


Hope's Fire

by TottWriter



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Action, Adventure, Danger, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Peril
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:05:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 136,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4067779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TottWriter/pseuds/TottWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been over a year since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, and things have been quiet in the Digital world. Then Takeru starts having nightmares about an ocean. When he wakes one night with concrete evidence that his nightmares are real, it marks the beginning of another dangerous adventure which will test the Chosen Children to their limits. As they are drawn into a whole other world they know nothing about, it becomes obvious that they are running headfirst into another life-or-death adventure without the first idea of how to save the day.</p>
<p>Hope's Fire began its life in the summer of 2015, and as such there’s no Tri here - but there <em>is</em> a healthy amount of danger, and a generous sprinkling of mythological creatures to make up for that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this fic kicks off in May 2004, and counts the events of the first, second, and fourth films as part of the continuity. (I'm handwaving M03 because it won't come up.) 
> 
> Taichi, Yamato, and Sora have just started Senior High School, Takeru, Hikari, and Daisuke have just started Junior High School, Koushiro and Mimi are in their last year there, with Mimi having returned to Japan a couple of months ago, and the other Chosen Children fit in around that. (Obviously Ken is still in the same year as Hikari and the rest, but he's at a different school due to not living in Odaiba.)
> 
> When I first started posting this story, I wasn't sure how long it was going to be, and erred on the side of pushing out shorter, more regular updates. I'm currently (as of March 2016) aiming for roughly 5k per chapter. It has grown a lot since the beginning, so if 1-2k is too short a chapter for your liking, please bear with it!

The ocean. It had been dark before; all grey and washed out. The image of despair and hopelessness. Now it was different. The same beach, but filled with colour – too much colour really. Like an oversaturated photograph, too rich to be real. And yet that same despair filled the air. That same fear and dread.

Since when had this been  _his_  nightmare? This was the sort of thing Ken and Hikari talked about, not him. He'd only even  _seen_  the Dark Ocean because he'd followed Hikari there, desperate to bring her back. Desperate to keep that promise he'd made to Sora, all those years ago.

And now it was haunting him. The same, and yet completely different. For the first time he could remember, he was glad that he only lived with his mother – who worked hard enough that she slept through the yelling when he woke. Even now, his older brother was overprotective enough that he would have made a fuss.

No, it was best to just keep this to himself. It wasn't as though there were any real problems in the digital world any more. It was just a nightmare. A really, _really_ annoying nightmare, given that he had studying to do, and the broken nights' sleep were starting to catch up on him. 

School was a trial of endurance that he scraped through. Barely. He'd probably started to doze off in Maths, because in flicking through his notes he realised he didn't really understand any of them. Still. That was what friends – and weekends – were for.

"Takeru, are you okay?"

Hikari's question caught him off-guard, and he almost tripped over. He rubbed his forehead, cursing himself. Of course she would notice. They'd been walking for a good five minutes now, and he'd spent the whole time staring off into the distance like some sort of zombie.

“Ahh... yeah. Course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?” It wasn’t the first time that he’d had to improvise when faced with a slightly too-personal question. There was always the chance he sounded like his usual flustered self, instead of this new kind. For once he actually hoped so. 

“It's just you've been awfully quiet today. It’s not like you at all, Takeru. I... You know you can always tell me if there's a problem, right?” Her eyes bored into him. 

Normally, this was the part where he would feel himself either turning red and quickly looking away, or making a joke so he had an excuse to change the topic. But he felt frozen to the spot. All he could think of was how she was the last person he could talk to about nightmares of an ocean. He knew firsthand how some bad memories never left you. And he was too just too tired to think of anything else to say. It had been how long – a week or more since he’d had a decent night’s sleep? 

Forcing himself to blink hard, and wake his eyes up, he rubbed his head again. He made sure to avoid her gaze as he replied:

"I'm just a bit tired, is all. Stayed up too late last night." With any luck, mixing in a bit of honesty would make her believe him.

"Hmm."

He didn't look at her. He knew that tone of voice. She hadn't bought it, not remotely.

"Listen, I'm gonna skip on the park today," he said eventually, hating himself for ducking out of the one day a week they had the afternoon together. Normally it was the thing he looked forward to the most. "I should probably get back home and have an early night."

He forced a smile to his face before walking quickly away, trying not to worry about what she would think. This was a terrible idea if he wanted her to think he was fine, but what else could he do? There was no way he could keep up a façade for as long as he would need to, anyway.

The door closed behind him with a click. He was already yawning as he put his shoes by the door, and made his way to his room. Dumping his bag by his bed, he heard his phone start to buzz. Naturally, by the time he had fished it out, he'd missed the call. Hikari. Damn it.

Groaning, he flopped back onto his bed. Now what? If he called her back, she would have him cornered and she would know for certain something was up. If he didn't call...

He closed his eyes. What did it matter? He'd said he was going to sleep – he could just explain in the morning that he'd nodded off. The nightmares always seemed to wake him at the same time, so if he slept now perhaps he would actually get enough rest. Hopefully then he’d be awake enough to do a more convincing job of covering it up. 

The phone dropped to the floor with a quiet  _thunk_ . He was asleep moments later.

 

* * *

 

_The ocean was there again. It was too bright, and he squinted as he looked around. Was he somewhere different this time? Things looked that way._

_Water lapped around his ankles. So far, so familiar. The shore was a short way off, to the right. To the left, across the water, there was a line of distant, bright green. He frowned. That was new._

_The water was cold, and he splashed his way to the shore, wincing as he walked up the short beach. Pebbles poked at the soles of his feet, and he realised he had no shoes. Odd. Normally in dreams, you were fully dressed for wherever it was that you ended up. And if you weren't, it was usually the focus, not a side-note._

_He looked down at his clothes. They were what he'd been wearing when he crashed out. Down to the worn patch on one elbow. He'd never noticed before, too busy walking along the shore instead of up it. Too busy hoping that they wouldn't be here this time._

_The wind picked up. It was eerie. Trees he could only just see beyond a steep bank at the beach's edge began to rustle. Countless leaves all sighing. The sun went in._

_He clenched his teeth, waiting, as the thick grey clouds billowed out of nowhere, mopping up the bright blue sky. Without the sun, the too-bright colours around him took on a different tone. No less rich, but darker. Menacing._

_The tree branches started to creak and groan. Takeru put his hands up over his ears, pulling his hat down firmly on his head. The howling would start any moment now. He had to get away from the water._

_Ignoring the pain from the sharper pebbles, he forced himself up the bank. The wind was getting much stronger now, and the grasses were bent low. Behind him, the ocean was whipping itself into a frenzy._

_He topped the crest of the bank, and looked out over the landscape. It was hillocky grass, with trees a short way beyond it. Staring at them, he wondered what was wrong. Why was he feeling so scared of a sudden?_

_It hit him. This was different. Normally, he walked along the seashore, still in the water, until the wind reached a howling crescendo and he turned to see a massive wave headed straight for him. The shock had woken him every night for over a week. Now he was stood on the grass, away from the water, and there was no wave._

_The wind began to howl in his ears, the sky growing ever darker. There were wildflowers in the grass. They almost seemed blurry at the edges, so rich was their colour. As he watched, the petals on one were torn away by the wind, and were lost beyond the tree-line._

_He knelt down. The wind was buffeting him so hard that it was getting difficult to stand. Was this some kind of storm brewing up? A wave crashed loudly on the shore, sending up billowing clouds of spray. A few drops even reached him where he stood on the grass._

_Something hissed beside him, and he looked around sharply. There was a small patch of black nearby. Something had singed the grass. His eyes widened, and he stood back up. Was there someone – or something – nearby?_

_Something burned into his hand. He yelped, and brought one arm down from his head to look at it. There was a red, circular mark on his skin. He just had time to start worrying before he felt another stinging, this time on his arm. Looking around, he began to panic. What was going on? There were more black specks in the grass now._

_All too quickly he realised. It was raining. Raining something which burned everything it touched._


	2. Chapter Two

He woke, screaming. His hands and arms felt as though they were on fire, as did patches on his face. Sitting up, he waited for the pain to stop now that he was awake. When it didn't, he fumbled for the switch on his lamp.

Shock almost made him scream again. His hands – and his arms too, to a lesser extent, were scattered with angry, circular burns. Even now he could see some of them starting to blister.

It was dark outside. Had he slept to the usual time again? He glanced over at the clock. Sure enough, there it was. Just gone two in the morning. Shaking, he sat up in his bed, looking at the marks on his arms. What was he going to do now?

Steeling himself, he took a few deep breaths. First things first. He had to put something on them. There would be some ointment in the bathroom. His mother kept a pretty comprehensive first aid kit in the cupboard there.

He made his way to the bathroom. The light revealed another problem. The sore, stinging patches on his face corresponded to more burns. He leant heavily on the sink, staring at his face. How was this possible? It was just a  _dream_ , for crying out loud!

Closing his eyes, he leant heavily on the wall. He could feel his heart hammering inside him; hear his own breaths getting more ragged.

"Urgh, get a hold of yourself," he muttered, bringing his hands up to his face. Wincing, he dropped his arms back to his sides. He'd rubbed the burns, making them sting all the more.

Right. Focus. He fumbled in the cupboard, cursing now and then as he knocked the blisters on the shelves and various medicines. Finally he found a tube of salve, and set to easing it into the marks on his arms and face. Were there any more? He didn't hurt anywhere else, so presumably he'd managed to escape before the rain started falling in earnest. The thought of what would have happened had the shock not woken him up made his stomach lurch.

Now what? Patamon was in the digital world – had been there for a week now. Normally his partner would have been his first port of call, but Takeru wasn't sure he wanted the little guy seeing him like this. It wasn't related to the digital world at all, and Patamon would worry. Where was the sense in that when there was nothing he could do?

Still. He had to tell  _someone_. The evidence that something was wrong was now plastered across his face and arms. But who could he tell? It was the middle of the night. Who was going to be awake at this hour – and who could he talk to about this anyway?

Yamato might be awake – but he wasn't sure that telling him was a good idea. Takeru didn't even know what was going on yet, and if anyone was likely to freak out and make a huge fuss, it was his big brother. He really didn't want some impromptu gathering of all the DigiDestined, so they could all stare at him. After all, maybe this was something he could sort out quietly. Maybe it was just some... some kinda weird thing that still had a rational explanation.

Koushiro was the next on his mind. Their resident solver of problems. Still. Normally those problems revolved around computers. He wasn't sure that this was really something in his field of expertise. Nor was calling Ken an option. He was smart, even without the influence of the dark spores, sure. But he'd also confessed recently that he still had nightmares about his time as the Digimon Emporer. The last thing he needed was a reminder of it, if that could be helped. It was the same reason calling Hikari was not an option.

Jou. Jou was studying to be a doctor, having finally overcome the bulk of his squeamishness. He might even be awake, ridiculously late/early as it was. Takeru was pretty sure he'd mentioned exams the last time he had spoken with him.

Mind made up, Takeru walked softly back to his bedroom, and picked up his phone. With every moment, he was better able to convince himself that Jou would have some kind of medical explanation for this. He was bound to – and if he didn't, he'd know how to look one up. Maybe... maybe it was just some kind of weird rash, brought on by tiredness. He would have to have been pretty out of it. After all, he had collapsed into bed and fallen so deeply asleep straight after school that he hadn't woken to eat anything.

Not that he felt especially hungry at the moment. His phone had slid partway under the bed, and he fished it out, wincing as he saw three missed calls from Hikari, and an unread message. At least it lent credibility to the "ridiculously overtired" theory. There was no way he would have slept through that ringing otherwise.

He ignored the message for now. It was both too late and too early to do anything about it, and he couldn't explain anything until after talking to Jou, anyway. Once he had some kind of explanation to give her, it wouldn't be so bad. Probably. Possibly. He had to admit, there was a strong chance she was going to be mad at him either way.

Now wasn't the time for that. He forced himself to send Jou a message, asking to speak to him urgently, and then to put the phone face down on the bed. About thirty seconds later, his willpower ran out and he snatched it up again.

_Takeru, what is going on? First you bolt on me, and then you don't pick up? Did I do something to make you mad? Can't you tell me so I can at least apologise for whatever it was?_

Shit. He'd thought she would be mad at him, not that she would blame herself for it all. Anger he could deal with. The thought that she was sat at home feeling as though any of this was somehow her fault made his chest hurt. He'd wanted to protect her from this.

Jou wasn't replying. He had to be asleep, or so far gone with studying that he'd left his phone somewhere out of earshot. With every minute of silence, it got harder to convince himself that this really was just some run of the mill medical issue.

_Jou, are you there? It's really important. I-_

Cursing under his breath, Takeru deleted the message, and called him instead. Just as he thought it was about to ring off, Jou answered. To judge from the bleary voice on the other end of the line, he _had_ been asleep. Takeru pushed guilt to the back of his mind.

"Wha- who is this? It's the middle of the night!"

"Jou, it's me," Takeru said, realising his voice was shaking. "I... something weird happened, and I need your help."

"Wait... Takeru? Why do you need  _my_  help? What's going on?"

"It's... I... Have you ever heard of people waking up covered in blisters? I know you're still studying, but I couldn't think of anyone else to ask who might have answers."

"Well, what kind of blisters? Like a rash?"

"Um... almost? It's on my hands and arms, and a few on my face." He fought to keep his voice as calm as he could.

"Well. Illnesses like chicken pox  _do_  show up like small blisters on the skin. Do they itch? Although, Takeru, I'm not really sure why you called me up in the middle of the night over chicken pox. Couldn't it wait until the morning?"

"No! I mean... They don't itch, they feel like... like they're burns. They weren't blisters at first, just really red and sore, and now they've blistered. It's like someone sprayed hot oil over me while I was asleep, and I was having this dream where it was raining something which burned, and when I woke up I had all these red marks where the rain hit me and I'm slightly  _freaking out_!"

He took a deep breath, wincing. He hadn't meant to spill everything out like that, but in the face of Jou's tangible impatience it had been impossible to stop talking once he'd started. There was silence on the other end of the phone. Finally:

"Takeru... I want you to go to Koushiro's. I'll call ahead, let him know we're on our way."

" _What_!" Takeru cringed as he realised how loudly he had cried out. He carried on more quietly. "I mean... what? It's two in the morning! He'll be asleep!"

"And I wasn't?" Takeru winced at the tone of Jou's voice, then heard him sigh. "Look, either it's serious enough that we can't wait until the morning; or it's nothing, and you woke me up in the middle of the night for no reason at all. Which is it?"

Takeru sat back so his head was resting against the wall, and looked at the marks on his free arm. "It's bad then," he said, closing his eyes. "You know, I'd really been hoping you would tell me there was some kind of  _normal_  reason."

"I'm not saying there isn't, somewhere," came Jou's voice. "But with us, I think it pays to make sure there isn't an  _ab_ normal reason first. Will you go?"

Takeru sighed heavily. "Yeah. I'm sure as anything not gonna go back to sleep, that's for sure. I'll be over there as soon as I can. They sting like crazy."

"Okay. I'll call Koushiro now. Meet you there." The phone clicked dead.

For a few moments Takeru didn't move, save to let the arm holding his phone drop to his side. What if Jou and Koushiro couldn't find an explanation? The rising panic in his chest was back. He'd take nightmares every night for the rest of his life for this to just be another bad dream. How was he meant to go back to sleep if it was real?

Less than five minutes later, he closed his bedroom door behind him. There was a note on the table which he hadn't seen before. In his panic to get to the bathroom he had walked right past it.

_-Takeru, I checked in your room when I got home and saw you were already asleep. I couldn't see signs of you having eaten, so I made dinner enough for you as well. It's in the fridge for when you wake up. Hope you're feeling okay. Mum-_

He turned the note over. Fishing for a pen, he scrawled on the back:

_-Something's come up. Had to go to Koushiro's. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll grab food on the way.-_

He hated doing it. Hated lying; hated sneaking out of his own home. But he couldn't risk anyone else seeing him like this. Couldn't risk anyone else worrying. It was bad enough as it was. As the door closed behind him, all he could do was pray that Koushiro would have some kind of answer.


	3. Chapter Three

The lift in Koushiro's apartment block was out of order again. Of course it was. Taking the lift would be too easy. Sighing, Takeru made his way up the stairs. He was glad it was a cool night. The cold breeze helped to soothe the pain. It was as bad as the time he had found his father's lighter as a young boy, and burnt three fingers on his right hand while playing with it.

The lights were out in Koushiro's apartment. Had Jou been able to get hold of him? Takeru gingerly fished in his pocket for his phone, trying not to rub the back of his hand. Before he had time to send a message he heard the catch.

The door swung open, and Koushiro beckoned him in, holding a finger to his lips.

"My parents are asleep. This way."

They crept through the dark apartment, their path lit by the light coming from the crack under Koushiro's bedroom door. Jou was there already, and started when they walked in.

"Well. I can certainly see why you were "freaking out", as you put it," he said. Takeru could hear the tremble in Jou's voice.

Koushiro was staring too, now that there was enough light to see the blisters. "And you say you just woke up like this?" he asked, closing the door behind them.

Takeru nodded. "I... I've been having the dreams for a little over a week now. Like Hikari did, only not, because that place was dark and grey, and this is about as far from that as you can get."

"Why didn't you  _tell_ anyone?" Koushiro asked, sinking into his desk chair. He looked pale.

"Because they were just bad dreams! I mean, everything has been normal for more than a year now, and I didn't want Hi-" He coughed to cover his near slip, as Jou and Koushiro exchanged a look. "I didn't want anyone to worry. Besides. I saw the Dark Ocean at the time, and that was a completely different place. I didn't have any reason to think they were anything other than plain old bad dreams. All the other nights I just woke up normally."

"Sit down," said Koushiro. "Jou, did you bring anything for those burns? I'm assuming that's what they are."

Jou nodded, as Takeru sat down on Koushiro's bed. The older boy pulled a first aid kit out of the bag at his feet, and looked at the burns on Takeru's arms.

"They certainly look like it. You really need dressings on them, to prevent infection, but I hadn't expected there to be so many of them. I'm not sure I have enough in this kit. I've never seen anything like this before."

Takeru groaned. "Great, so now what? And what's the use in putting something on them, when the odds are that the next time I fall asleep something worse is going to happen?" He could feel the panic bubbling up in his chest again. "How am I ever meant to get some sleep, when I don't know what's going to happen if I do?"

Koushiro shook his head. "While we can't discount that as a potential danger, it's also unwise to extrapolate based on a solitary outlier. You mentioned that this is the first night that you have experienced a tangible effect from these dreams, yes? Well, was there anything which happened differently to lead to those circumstances? Perhaps we can work through this logically, and come to a solution to prevent this from reoccurring."

"There was a silence while Takeru translated the speech in his head. "Wait. I'm not going to be your guinea pig, Koushiro. Have you not noticed that whatever is happening there is getting brought back with me?"

Jou nodded. "I really don't think that just acting as though this is a one-off is going to help. It's too dangerous."

Koushiro sighed, his head drooping. When he looked up, Takeru saw genuine worry on his face.

"The trouble is, I can't think of any alternative. You've confirmed that we're not talking about any world with which we are familiar, and we have no explanation of what could be causing you to be affected by it in this way. When Hikari was pulled into the Dark Ocean, it was by digimon who needed help-"

"And then betrayed her," Takeru pointed out.

"Precisely. But she described seeing those entities  _before_  she was taken there. In her dreams. Whereas, what you are describing is an absence of any life forms of that sort altogether. Additionally, at no point did Hikari manifest with this sort of phenomenon. The two situations don't correlate, so really, the only information we have is what you can tell us." Koushiro frowned. "We don't have sufficient data on whatever this place is to start making assumptions. And the only alternative is to suggest that you refrain from sleeping, which is hardly a viable solution."

"Well, I don't really feel like sleeping right now. That's for certain."

"Perhaps not, but at some point it will become a biological necessity."

"Koushiro's right, Takeru," said Jou. "The human body begins to shut down without sleep. You have a maximum of about nine days, and the majority of those you would be increasingly delusional."

"Takeru felt his heart hammering in his chest again. Surely they weren't giving up already? Yet, that was exactly what it sounded like. They didn't know what to do. They couldn't help. And the next time he fell asleep, who knew what was going to happen? How long could he stay awake for before he passed out? He felt as though his life had suddenly become a countdown. Seconds trickling away from him; time running out.

"Focus, Takeru," Koushiro said urgently. "We're not giving up, but we need more data. You have to tell us every detail you can remember. There has to be a solution to this problem, and an explanation as to what's causing it, but we can't work that out with an incomplete picture."

"I don't know what more I can tell you. Every night for the last week I've dreamt about this beach, as though I just woke up standing ankle deep in the water. And I walk along the shore, and the wind gets stronger and stronger until it's almost knocking me down. It's howling in my ears, it's so loud. And then I hear some kind of roaring behind me, and I turn and see a massive wave of water bearing down on me. And just as it's about to hit, and sweep me away, I wake up. And always at about two in the morning. Just one or two minutes past."

As he spoke, Jou had started to dress the burns on his arms and hands. He continued in silence as Takeru paused, collecting his thoughts.

"And then tonight... Well. I came straight home from school and crashed out. And when I woke up, it was in the same place, only I thought I could see a shore on the far side of the ocean. It threw me, seeing something different. When the wind picked up, I didn't wait for the wave. I don't know why, but I just felt more aware of what would happen if I didn't move. Like I was more awake somehow. And – and the other crazy thing was that I was dressed exactly as I'd gone to sleep. Right down to just wearing my socks on my feet, and no shoes. By the time the wind got to that howling point, I was on this kind of field, with trees past it. My hat almost blew off, it was so strong. I had my hands over my head holding it down. And it had got dark then, like a storm was coming, only instead of it raining, it was just these drops that burned. I don't know how, but I just suddenly emknew/em that it was raining this stuff, and it was going to burn, and I was stuck out in it with nothing to stop it from burning me all over... And then I woke up."

There was a silence. Koushiro had his head down, frown lines visible. Eventually he looked up.

"And you woke at a couple of minutes past two again? Additionally, I note that you are not wearing a hat at the moment."

"Uhh, near enough. I think the clock said two oh five. And I changed before heading over. All I did after getting in from school was take my blazer off."

"Koushiro's expression had changed. The frown was gone; now he simply looked thoughtful. "I wonder," the older boy said softly. His expression had glazed over in that familiar way so typical of the redhead when he was processing a thought.

"You wonder what?" said Jou. He had reached the end of his supply of gauze pads and bandages. There were still two burns on Takeru's arm, and the few on his face, which remained undressed. "You're going to have to be careful with these until we can get more dressings, Takeru. If the blisters rupture, they could get infected."

Takeru groaned. Just what he needed. "How long will they take to heal, Jou?"

Koushiro grimaced. "Takeru, burns can take weeks to heal if they are serious. I don't need to be training as a doctor to know that. If you're thinking of trying to stay awake until they do, then I would advise you to forget it. However. From the information you provided, I wonder if I can propose a hypothesis." He paused, leaning forwards in his chair.

"You think you know what to do?" Takeru asked. It never took much to get his hopes up, but even this sliver had seemed impossible a few minutes before.

It  _is_ only a hypothesis at this stage. I can't be absolutely certain. But, are you sure that it was five minutes past two when you awoke this time? It's only a couple of minutes, but that is different to the time you mentioned previously. And it correlates with your description of having acted differently this time. So far there is also a connection between you experiencing a surge of fear strong enough to awaken you, and you being returned to the real world. Now, previously, you were awoken by the giant wave you spoke of. This time, that wave didn't awaken you because you were no longer in the water. You remained in this... so far unidentified world for a longer period of time. That burning rain awoke you just as it started to fall. My hypothesis therefore is that this occurred because you had not already been awoken by the wave you described. For each night to be a repeat, there is obviously some cyclical pattern to the weather. It starts over every time you enter the world. When you remained in the sea, the wave awoke you before the rain had time to start. When you left the sea, crucially, you stayed the extra few minutes it took for the rain to begin, which in turn generated the fear response which awoke you as you realised what was happening."

There was silence as Takeru and Jou processed and translated what Koushiro had said into something they understood.

"So you're saying that the only way I can get back is by scaring myself to death every night?" Takeru said eventually. "No offence, but that sounds like a really terrible plan."

Koushiro sighed. Jou took the opportunity to speak up.

"Have you a first aid kit in the apartment? If you've any dressings, it really would be a good idea to finish treating Takeru."

"Of course," Koushiro replied. "I'll return momentarily."

"Takeru sighed, and tentatively lowered his head into his hands. He didn't look up when Jou sat on the bed next to him, or when the older boy leant forward to rest hands on knees. How was this happening? After everything he had been through in the Digital world, he had thought he was past surprises. Apparently he'd been wrong.

"You know, I thought the nightmare ended when I woke up," he said after a minute, his voice leaden. "But now I feel like it just carried on. What am I going to tell my mum, and everyone else? How can I explain...  _these_?" He lifted his arms up, looking at the dressings which littered them.

Jou rested a hand on his shoulder. "Look. I know you must be feeling pretty scared at the moment, and I don't think that's something to be ashamed of. I mean, at least when we fell into the Digital world it was all together. But none of us knew what was going on when we arrived there either, you know.

The older boy paused, straightening his glasses. "I don't know how much you picked up on it at the time, but we were running completely blind. We didn't have any answers, or explanations. But we still came through it all in one piece, eventually. And I'm sure there's got to be some answers this time too. I can't promise that it will be easy, but we won't stop looking until we find out what's going on. We won't let you down, Takeru."


	4. Chapter 4

There was no point in returning home. It was only a few hours until dawn, and neither of the older boys wanted Takeru to go home and sleep.

"I know I said that you can't stay awake forever," Koushiro had said, "But there's a difference between that and letting you go to sleep unattended. And I'm pretty sure Yamato would bring a slow and painful death my way if we simply sent you on your way."

"I don't think I could sleep, anyway," Takeru had said, feeling guilty. He had been able to see both Jou and Koushiro stifling yawns.

In the end, Koushiro had pulled a sleeping bag out of a cupboard, and told Jou to get some rest. He and Takeru had passed the time until the sun rose talking about old times, and then switched places, so that both boys had at least a little more than half a night's sleep.

Mrs Izumi had been surprised too see her houseguests, particularly Takeru, but had taken it in her stride. By the time they roused Koushiro, there was a breakfast waiting for the three of them in the kitchen. They ate quickly, and then returned to Koushiro's room.

"Takeru, I know you said you didn't want people to worry, but I really think it's time to call the others. Yamato in particular. He is your brother, after all. He deserves to know. Besides, we can't exactly keep it a secret. It's lucky enough that it's the weekend now, and you don't have to worry about school." Jou said. "It was one thing while it was the middle of the night, but it's morning now. They'll be waking up."

Takeru nodded gloomily. The weight of his phone dragged on his pocket, reminding him that he had never replied to Hikari, either. Even if she didn't call again, there was every chance he would have an angry Taichi on his case, berating him for ignoring his little sister.

He sighed, and then looked up at the other two. "Listen," he said. "My mum is working today. She'll be leaving my apartment about now – I think it would be best for me to head back there. It's unfair of me to impose on your family any more, Koushiro. I can call the others from my apartment."

Koushiro raised an eyebrow. "And you think Yamato will be happy that we let you out of his sight, do you?"

Takeru rolled his eyes. "I'm not a little kid any more, you know. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of walking home."

"Oh, certainly," Koushiro replied. "After all, it's not as though you have inexplicable injuries and no way of explaining them which anyone other than one of us would believe. Or as though you've been awake since two o' clock in the morning and should probably have someone standing nearby if and when you go to sleep again. Or that you have a family tendency of behaving irrationally in the name of alleged selflessless, or have friends and family who care for your wellbeing. Naturally, none of those situations or conditions apply, so I would be happy for you to walk out of my apartment, and I'll just cheerfully tell Yamato that I have no idea what's wrong with his younger brother, but that's okay because he decided he wanted to walk home."

Takeru cursed under his breath. Koushiro was altogether too smart for his own good. In the end, he managed to get as far as convincing Koushiro to accompany him back to his own apartment, on the condition that he called Yamato when he got there. Jou headed home to get some more sleep – he had studying to do. Takeru felt guilty enough about disrupting his sleep as it was.

They reached the apartment around mid-morning. Takeru was relieved. He'd gotten sick of the odd looks just in the time it had taken them to get back.

"I just don't understand why people feel the need to stare so much, that's all," he said, fumbling for his key. "Haven't they got anything better to do?"

Koushiro shrugged, and held his hand out for the key when he saw Takeru struggling. The dressings on his hand made it hard to fit it in the lock.

"It's my experience that people will always stare at something they consider a novelty. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will remember it, of course. I would hazard a guess that most of the people who we passed have already forgotten us."

Takeru poked his head around the door, listening. He couldn't shake the nagging fear that his mother had stayed home from work, and would be waiting indoors to panic when she saw her youngest son. Only when he was sure her shoes weren't by the door did he relax and walk inside.

"You know, Takeru. You won't be able to conceal this much longer. On the whole, I would suggest that being open and upfront about it is a far better course of action than secrecy."

Takeru sighed. "I know. It's just that I'd like to have some time to decide what I'm going to tell everyone, first."

He sat down on the sofa, and stared blankly at his arms, wondering which blister was going to prove the most inconvenient. The one next to a knuckle on his left hand looked a strong contender. He flinched when Koushiro handed him the phone.

Yamato answered on the second ring. Stumbling his way through the words, Takeru convinced him to skip band practice and head over. His hand was shaking as he hung up.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not call anyone else," he said after a moment. "I'm not entirely sure I can handle it. Part of me feels as though I'm calling people up to say goodbye."

Koushiro sat down on the sofa. "Takeru, we're not giving up," he said. "This is a new problem, yes. But that doesn't mean it's unsolvable. There has to be an answer somewhere. We just have to look in the right place. Don't give up, okay?"

The younger boy nodded. "So. How about video games until Yamato arrives, eh? Gotta pass the time somehow."

* * *

A knock at the door sounded as they were just getting into their second game. Koushiro stood quickly.

"I'll get it. Just in case it's someone other than Yamato," he said. "Although, admittedly that might cause as many questions..."

Takeru sighed. "You could always tell them my computer died, and you came over to fix it. But I don't think anyone else will be coming over, to be honest with you."

The door opened. He could hear from the voice that it was Yamato. The two boys talked softly by the front door instead of walking over. Yamato sounded merely surprised at first, and then increasingly agitated. Takeru started to feel uneasy. Why had he let Koushiro talk him into calling? They should have waited until they had  _answers_.

"What do you  _mean_ , Izumi," he heard Yamato say, with a dangerous undercurrent in his voice. Time to face the music.

He scrambled off the sofa, and over to where the others were standing. Yamato paled when he saw him – then shoved Koushiro roughly against the wall.

"What  _happened!_ " he yelled at the other boy.

"Hey!" Takeru shouted back, darting forwards to grab his brother and pull him off. "Just calm down. This has nothing to do with anyone else. It's... it's not as bad as it looks, okay. It's just a bit on my arms and face, is all. Nothing else. There's no good taking it out on Koushiro. I went to him for  _help_."

Yamato glowered at him, his breathing uneven. "You went to Izumi?" he asked shortly, finding his balance. "Why not  _me_? I'm your brother Takeru. You should have called me first. You know I'd have dropped what I was doing to help. And instead you leave me out of the loop. I mean, for crying out loud, you're covered in bandages. You couldn't tell me before seeing a doctor?"

Takeru winced. It didn't help that Koushiro had his very best I-told-you-so face on. "I didn't see a doctor, Yamato," he said at last. "It was Jou."

Before Yamato had time to yell, Koushiro grabbed his arm. "At least listen to him first?" he said. "While I can't say that I necessarily agree about timings, he did have his reasons."

"Thanks a bunch, Koushiro," Takeru said, managing to find the smallest of smiles in there somewhere. He turned to his brother. "Look, this all kicked off in the middle of the night, and I didn't know what to do. I called Jou because he's studying medicine. I thought he could reassure me that it was nothing. Only he didn't know what was wrong either, so we ended up at Koushiro's."

"Are you sick then?" Yamato asked. Takeru could practically see the worry spreading across him. The anger had evaporated already. "Maybe you should go and sit down."

"We don't know," Koushiro said softly. "I would say that this reeks of the particular kind of unusual that we Chosen Children deal with, except there's nothing tying it to the Digital world."

"It was just bad dreams, Yamato," Takeru said, sighing. "Like Hikari, and Ken, with the Dark Ocean. Except this wasn't the same place. It was too bright and colourful, not grey. And then last night I woke up like this."

Yamato blanched, leaning against the wall for support. Koushiro and Takeru stared at him. It was a shock, yes, but they hadn't expected the almost infamously taciturn Yamato to react so strongly.

"Okay, let's all go and sit down then," said Koushiro, with false cheer. "You two on the sofa, and I'll make coffee. I don't care if you don't want coffee; you need a pick-me-up, with plenty of sugar."

Takeru found himself being propelled towards the seat. Beside him, Yamato followed without protest. His face was ashen. The transformation scared Takeru, a lot. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his brother look so terrified.

When Koushiro left them for the kitchen area, Yamato leant forward and put his head in his hands. Every inch of him drooped, as though it had been  _him_  who'd stayed up half the night.

"Takeru, please tell me what's going on," he said hollowly. "And no leaving things out this time. I  _need_  to know what happened."

By the time Takeru had finished explaining, Koushiro had sat down nearby, having brought a chair over from the dining table. There was silence for a few minutes.

"It's impossible," Yamato said at last. His voice was almost cracking – he sounded as though he was trying to swallow his words as much as say them. "That- that can't be happening Takeru. It just can't."

Takeru, already tense, finally snapped. "Well it is. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. I'm sorry I didn't tell everyone when I started having weird dreams, and I'm sorry I woke up in the night covered in mysterious blisters, but  _that's what happened._  I'm not making any of this up, okay? Did you want me to peel the dressings off so you can have a good gawp at them for yourself? Did you think this was the sort of thing I would make up just for a bit of fun? I'm not that kind of person Yamato. I don't know anyone who  _is_. I thought you knew that."

He stood sharply, unable to sit any longer. It was just too much, on top of everything. Part of him wanted to storm out of the building and go... somewhere. Instead, he leant his back against the wall, letting his head rock backwards until it connected with a soft thud.

"That's not what I meant," came Yamato's voice, low and miserable. "What I meant was... You're not the only one who's been having bad dreams, Takeru. That world you described: I think I've been there too."


	5. Chapter 5

****Abandoned on the table, Takeru's phone rang into silence. Koushiro and Takeru remained staring at Yamato. None of the three had moved or spoken in the minutes since the older blonde's revelation. The spell was finally broken when the phone rang off.

"Well," Yamato said, his voice a strained attempt at normal. "Aren't you going to see who it was, Takeru? Or are we all just going to carry on sitting here?"

Before Takeru had a chance to reply, the apartment's phone began to ring instead. He groaned.

"Well, shit. I'm pretty sure I know who that is," he said. At the questioning stares from Yamato and Koushiro he added: "It's either Hikari or Taichi. I bailed on Hikari after school to sleep, and never returned her call. I have no idea what I'm gonna say." Despite the situation, he felt the slight blush creeping to his cheeks.

"You could always try honesty," Koushiro said, as the phone continued to ring. "It's probably going to be the best plan, going forwards. And if we're going to solve this problem, additional help is going to be a considerable asset.

Yamato growled with frustration, and stood suddenly, striding over to the phone and answering it.

"Hello, Takaishi residence, Yamato speaking." He spoke in brisk, clipped tones. There was a pause. "Yes, Takeru's here. It's... a little complicated, to be honest with you."

He turned to look at Takeru while he was talking, and raised his eyebrows. His composed, relaxed demeanour was suddenly back, as though there was nothing troubling him. Anyone other than Takeru might even have believed it. "No, it's nothing like that. Listen. If you're not doing anything, it might be best to come over. I don't really know how to explain it over the phone. Oh. Is Taichi there? Ah, right. Never mind then. Okay. See you soon."

Takeru sighed as his brother hung up. "Hikari?" His brother nodded, then took a seat at the dining table.

"So. Koushiro. What's your theory," Yamato asked, resting his elbows on the table. "Don't try and tell me you haven't got one by now."

Koushiro started, and ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "Well, it obviously goes without saying that the additional information you have given us has changed matters considerably. I had been operating under the assumption that what Takeru was experiencing related to another world, much as Hikari experienced dreams of the Dark Ocean before being pulled there a couple of years ago. I'm still not entirely certain if your news changes that or not."

Takeru sat down at the table, opposite his brother. "What did you see?" he asked him. "Why do you think it's the same place?"

Yamato sighed, and shook his head once, looking down at the table. He frowned, and then looked up again, meeting Takeru's gaze. He seemed hesitant.

"It's a different place," he said at last. "Or, a different location, anyway. But what you said about the over-brightness, that's the same. It makes my eyes ache, it's that bright. But it's not a beach. When I have the dreams I'm.. on a road, by a city. It's barren and dry, and at first it's like there's just a glare to everything from the sun. But there's a building nearby. A few, actually. The windows are boarded up, but there's an open door. Inside, there is still furniture in the rooms, and a few plants growing here and there. And even though it's a really dry place – almost like a desert – the leaves are bright. They're almost blurry. I have to squint to look at them because otherwise my eyes water."

Koushiro frowned. "Takeru, do you have some paper? I feel ridiculous saying this, but with everything that's happened, I forgot to bring my laptop. I think it's important to start writing all of this down so that we can see the overall picture. I can collate the information into one place later."

Takeru nodded. "I've got a notebook in my room," he said.

His clothes were where he had left them in the night, dumped on his bed next to his hat. Almost without thinking he started to tidy them away. His startled yell brought Yamato to the door at a run.

"Takeru! Are you alright? What happened?"

Takeru said nothing. He simply held up his hat and shirt for his brother to see. Both were dotted with several burn marks.

"I don't know how I didn't notice this last night," he said, voice shaking. "I thought it was only my skin that got burnt – I was just  _asleep_. How did it affect my clothes too?"

Yamato's eyes widened. "Well, I think we just got our evidence that this is a different world," he said, with affected calm. "Bring them out. Koushiro will want to see this."

The two boys were talking quietly when Takeru returned into the main room, having taken a few minutes to find a notebook. Everything seemed to take much longer with the dressings making his hands so cumbersome. He dumped the clothes down on the table in front of Koushiro, next to the notebook, then sat down himself. For a few minutes, no one spoke.

"Okay," Koushiro said at last. "Granted, this doesn't look like an enormously positive turn of events. But I think this might actually give us a step in the right direction. Its the definitive confirmation we needed that we're dealing with an alternate world, and not a sort of feedback response to psychological stimuli."

"And now again in a language we  _understand_ , please?" Yamato's arms were folded.

"Well. If it had only been Takeru's skin which was damaged by the burning rain, and not his clothes, it would be reasonable to assume that he was physically here for the duration of his experience. That it was an actual dream he was experiencing – albeit one with consequences that are all too real. But the burn marks are on these clothes, too. If Takeru had truly been asleep in his bed the whole time, that wouldn't be possible. The only explanation which accounts for his clothes being damaged is that he was  _physically_  transported to the other world in his sleep."

"Wait. You're saying that when I wake up in the water, I'm  _actually_  waking up? That it's not a dream at all?" Takeru could feel his heart hammering away again. "Then... does that mean..."

"It means that, if my theory is correct, your body would no longer be resting in your bed during the point at which you are experiencing the so-called dream."

"Well. This just got a whole lot more unnerving," Yamato remarked. He picked up Takeru's hat, running his fingers over the burns. It was as though someone had pressed a hot poker to the material in several places, and then somehow prevented it bursting into flames.

"But I don't understand," Takeru said, after a minute. "Something doesn't add up. If I'm awake the whole time I'm there, why doesn't it feel like hours and hours have passed?"

"He's got a point, Koushiro. The last few nights, I've felt as though I was in that other place a bit longer, but it still never feels as though it's gone on for more than half an hour or so."

Koushiro frowned. "Well, it's only a hypothesis at this stage. Obviously we have an incomplete picture, so I will have to refine it as time goes by. But one explanation could be that time passes differently between the two worlds, much as it once did between here and the Digital world."

"So time moves more slowly there? Koushiro, this is bad. What if I got stuck there? Or Yamato? It would be as if we went missing. We have to find a way to stop this happening."

Yamato put a hand on his shoulder. To a casual observer, he would have seemed almost calm, but Takeru could tell the difference.

"Relax, Takeru," he said. "We'll work it out. We've always found an answer before. There's no reason to assume that things won't be the same this time." He looked across at Koushiro, who was watching the two brothers carefully. "But we do need time, and I don't know how much of that we'll have before we need to have at least a temporary plan. I don't want my brother getting hurt again, Koushiro; we need to think of a way to protect him from any more of those burns."

Koushiro looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Takeru had a feeling he could guess why.

"It's what you said before, isn't it," he said, not daring to look at Yamato. "You don't know how else to get us back."

The boy hung his head. Takeru thrust himself away from the table, and stalked over to the kitchen area, fists clenched. He didn't think he could trust himself to speak. It felt as though his stomach had opened into a yawning pit. If he opened his mouth, there was a strong chance he'd be sick.

"What are you talking about?" Yamato asked, looking alternately at the two of them. "What don't I know?"

Takeru hung his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them. The note he had left for his mother was still on the worktop. Apparently she had simply pushed it out of the way, but not thrown it in the bin. He read and reread his message as Koushiro started to speak.

"Yamato, how have your dreams been ending?"

Silence.

"That bad, eh?" Koushiro's voice was soft. Almost sorrowful.

"What do you mean? What does how the dreams end have to do with anything?"

Rather than let Koushiro overcomplicate things, Takeru swallowed heavily, and cut in before he could reply. He kept his eyes on the note, focusing on the slight dogear in one corner.

"That's how we get  _back_ , Yamato. And assuming it's the same for you as for me, we get back by being scared to death. If the rain doesn't hurt me, that means it won't scare me. So something else will have to. Otherwise I'll be stuck there, so far as we can guess."

"But you two have been talking since last night. You must have come up with some sort of idea by now?"

"I just don't have enough information. The only logical solution I have been able to hypothesise is that in previous versions of his experience, Takeru generated a fear response from a giant wave bearing down on him, which preceded the start of the rainfall. That was sufficient to wake him before he sustained any injury, until last night when he had already left the water by the time of the wave's arrival."

"So you're telling my little brother to risk  _drowning_  himself? Oh, excellent advice Koushiro. I can certainly see why Takeru is so optimistic about it all now."

"Well when the only alternative is that he never sleeps again, perhaps you can see why I was a little desperate-"

"Wait," Takeru snapped. He had turned the note over to look at his mother's original message. "Stop arguing, you two. I might have something."

Koushiro was watching him curiously as he turned around, sharp eyes immediately fixed on the note. Yamato's expression was somewhat more desperate. Takeru could understand that. The thought of it being his older brother being in serious danger made him break out in a cold sweat.

"It's this," he said, brandishing the note. "Mum wrote it last night, when she got in from work. I didn't think about it before, because as far as I knew, I'd just been asleep. But she gets in late, and she wrote that she looked in my room and saw me sleeping."

"I don't follow," Yamato said, even as Koushiro's face lit up with understanding.

"Yamato, Takeru went straight to sleep after school yesterday. He would have been out cold well before five in the evening. But he didn't go to the other world straight away. He was still here, naturally asleep, several hours later when Mrs Takaishi saw him and wrote the note. Which means there's an additional factor at play. It's not simply a matter of falling asleep and immediately being transported away – and if that's the case, so long as it remains consistent, then there should be a way to circumvent it."


	6. Chapter 6

By the time there was a knock at the door, Yamato was in Takeru's room, trying to sleep. Koushiro and Takeru sat near the door, keeping an eye on him.

"That'll be Hikari," Takeru mumbled. "I'll keep watch. You answer it."

Koushiro managed a grin. "Still avoiding her? I don't think she's angry with you, somehow."

Takeru thought of the text she had sent, and felt a pang of guilt. He should have replied, he knew that. But what could he have said? What was he  _going_  to say?

"It's not that," he said, forcing the thought away. "I'm a bit of a sight at the moment, is all. I think you should go and explain, before she sees all this. Yamato  _is_  trying to sleep."

Yamato rolled onto his back, and stared at the ceiling. "Will one of you just open the door already? This is hard enough without all the muttering. Wait. Takeru, you go. Get any yelling over with."

"And to think I thought you cared about me," Takeru said dryly as he stood.

"Maybe I just want a good laugh before I go," was his brother's reply.

Koushiro snorted, and Takeru just shook his head. If his brother could joke, that had to be a good sign. He walked quickly to the door, and fumbled with the catch. The most recent batch of painkillers he'd taken were wearing off, and the soreness in his hands and arms was returning. It made him more wary of knocking the dressings on his hands. Particularly the two on his fingers.

After a few moments it clicked open. He held the door almost closed for a second before opening it fully. What was he supposed to  _say? Hey Hikari, sorry to worry you, I just started travelling to a nightmare world in my sleep is all_. It was ridiculous.

Hikari gasped. Takeru's mind went blank.

"Takeru, what happened?" she cried. "Was it an accident? Or a fight?"

He gestured for her to be quiet.

"Yamato is trying to sleep," he said in a low voice. Great. The first thought to come to mind was as unhelpful as it was beside the point. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It's really complicated. Koushiro could explain it better than me."

Hikari frowned, but said nothing as she removed her shoes, and followed him to the living area. She did give Koushiro a strange look as they passed Takeru's bedroom. Koushiro didn't even notice. He was alternating between writing in the notebook, and keeping an eye on Yamato.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly when they were seated. "Why is Yamato trying to sleep in the middle of the day? And why is Koushiro watching him? More importantly, why didn't you tell me you'd been hurt? Was it on your way home?"

The sincerity on his face chafed at him. It was hard enough talking to Hikari about himself as it was, without having to look at that expression of honest concern.

He closed his eyes and sighed, looking at the floor. "I didn't tell you, because it happened in the middle of the night," he said at last. "I was having nightmares – and it turns out Yamato was having them too. Last night I woke up like this. Well. I didn't wake up with the bandages and dressings, that part was Jou. I called him up in the middle of the night, and he told me to go see Koushiro, and we think we know what's going on now, but not a safe way to get back, so Yamato is trying to sleep now so that we can test the theory and see if there's a way we can sleep safely until Koushiro works out a safer way back. But that means someone has to be there, to wake us up if it looks like we're going, which is why Koushiro is sat outside my bedroom door. It's honestly not as weird as it looks."

Hikari raised her eyebrows. "Well I'm impressed," she said. "You managed to tell me the whole story, without giving away anything relevant."

He looked up sharply. She was smiling, but the expression didn't reach her eyes. They were hard to read. It didn't look like anger, exactly, but it wasn't concern.

"I..." He faltered.

"Could you  _please_  be honest with me? For once? I feel as though every time we talk – really talk I mean – there's something you're not telling me."

Almost instinctively, Takeru's gaze flicked over to Koushiro. The older boy wasn't watching them, but that didn't mean he wasn't listening.

Closing his eyes again, he hung his head.

"I didn't want you to worry," he said after a moment, meeting her eyes. "For the last week or so I've been dreaming about a place that was a little like the Dark Ocean. All the while it was just a dream, I didn't tell anyone. And then last night I woke up covered in burns, after burning rain fell on me in the dream. That's why I called Jou, and Koushiro. And then when we told Yamato he told us he's been having similar nightmares too. Koushiro thinks it's another world, and it pulls us in for some reason when we're asleep. That's why Yamato is trying to sleep. We need to know if there's a way to wake someone before they get sucked over there, and he wouldn't let me be the one to try it out."

Hikari had gone deathly pale. Takeru groaned with frustration.

"Now do you see why I didn't say anything? I knew it was a bad idea. With everything you-"

"Takeru." Hikari's voice was sharp. "Those dreams. You and Yamato. Both of you dreamed of the Dark Ocean?"

Takeru shook his head. "It isn't the Dark Ocean. It has that same feeling about it, but it's too bright and colourful. And Yamato wakes up on the outskirts of a city. Koushiro thinks it's another world, and we both wake up in different parts of it."

"It's... it's real?" Hikari looked frightened. That scared  _him_.

"I'm sorry Hikari. I know I should have told you. But Koushiro thinks we can work around it – it's more complicated than just going to sleep. It might only happen at certain times."

"What times?" she asked urgently. "I need to know."

He hadn't expected that response. "We- we don't know. That's why Koushiro and Yamato are testing the theory out now. Why? What's wrong, Hikari?"

She looked over at him, eyes wide. He wished more than anything that he could hold her tightly, and reassure her that everything would be okay. Never did he feel more protective than when something was upsetting her. But even leaving aside the terror he had of ruining their friendship, the blisters on his arms made it impossible. All he could do was watch while she fumbled for words.

"Taichi," she said at last. "He's been having nightmares too. He's woken up yelling every night for well over a week now. He hasn't said anything about it, but I can hear the fear in his voice. If... if it's the same thing, and he's going there, we have to warn him."

"He's been yelling loud enough to wake you?"

Hikari froze, the fear in her expression clear. "No," she said at last. "I hear him because the nightmares wake me first."

It felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. He felt sick. Why had he spent so long fussing over himself? He should have noticed. He should have known.

"You... you too?" he managed, after what felt like an eternity of struggling to make his vocal chords cooperate.

Hikari nodded. "I... I'm between a cliff and a forest. And the forest is too thick to get into, but the cliff has lots of caves. And everything's just so bright that I go into the nearest cave to get away from the glare. I thought it was just dreams, but that brightness – that's what you described too. And Taichi won't talk about what his dreams are, but how can it be coincidence? We can't all be having these nightmares unless it's connected somehow."

Takeru nodded. "You should call Taichi. I'll go tell Koushiro. He'll want to add it to his notes."

He walked over to the other boy. Koushiro held a finger up for silence, and then wrote something on the notepad:

_I think he's almost asleep. Don't want to disturb him now._

Takeru nodded, then gestured for the notebook. Koushiro shook his head, and pointed to his ear.

"You heard?" Takeru mouthed, and sighed with relief when Koushiro nodded. The other boy started writing again, then held up the notebook to reveal a second message:

_I'm still not entirely sure why the four of you are experiencing these nightmares, but I am working on a few theories. I will need to speak to the others, and make sure none of them are having them too._

Taketu peered into his bedroom. Yamato was lying with his back to them, and the light of the open door. He didn't move when Hikari's voice sounded, talking quietly but urgently over the phone.

Koushiro frowned, then looked at Takeru. He scribbled something quickly on the notebook

_I think he may be asleep. Would you go and check? It's a little more appropriate, as you're his brother._

Takeru nodded, and crept into the room. His brother was indeed asleep. Frown lines that Takeru hadn't even noticed that morning had eased. He looked more at peace than he'd seen him in weeks. How long had Yamato been having the nightmares? He'd made it sound as though it were longer than a week, that was certain. Another surge of guilt washed over him as he tiptoed back to the door. If only he'd said something sooner. Maybe they could have spared Yamato some of those broken nights' sleep. He had to have been exhausted, to go to sleep so quickly while knowing the danger that potentially awaited him.

"He'll be okay," Koushiro murmured. "And so will you. Taichi and Hikari as well. We'll find a solution."

"Taichi is heading over here now," Hikari said quietly, making the two boys jump. Takeru hadn't noticed her join them. "What are you watching for?"

Koushiro sighed. "We're not sure. All we really know is that there's something more than just sleeping which triggers the transfer between worlds. My current theory is that it has some relation to time of day, based on the fact that Takeru and Yamato confirmed that they have consistently woken at the same time."

Hikari nodded. "That sounds the same for me. Taichi too."

Takeru looked at the clock. Half eleven. If this didn't work – if they couldn't work out what it was – how much longer could he stay awake? Koushiro seemed convinced that he was in the most danger, being the only one thus far who had been injured by his experiences.

"Hikari?" That was Koushiro. "How does your experience normally end?" Takeru wrenched his face away from the clock's face to look at her.

"There's something in the cave," she said, hesitantly. "Some kind of creature. It's too dark for me to ever see what it is. But it paces back and forth. I can hear the footsteps. And then I feel its breath on my face, and I turn and run. Just as I think it's about to catch up with me, I wake up."

Koushiro nodded. "It fits the pattern," he said, frowning. "I just wish we had some idea of what the pattern  _is_. Why the four of you?"

"We might not be the only ones," Takeru pointed out. "We haven't called the others yet. And there's always the chance that it's not just something limited to us."

Hikari shook her head. "This is too similar to the Dark Ocean to be totally unrelated to the Digital world. I can't explain more than that, but I can feel it. There's a connection, of some sort."

Koushiro tapped the notebook thoughtfully with his pen. "Well, there's only one way to find out," he said, looking over at the sleeping Yamato. "We need to call the others and check. Don't get into a big conversation about it. We just need a yes or no, so that we know what we're dealing with. Explanations will have to wait until we have one. I'll keep an eye on Yamato."

* * *

_11:55am_.

Yamato slept on, Koushiro watching. Takeru and Hikari sat in silence at the table, a neglected textbook between them. It had seemed a good idea, to try and catch up on classwork. All the way up until the moment they had tried to focus on the subject, and failed miserably.

"I think the waiting is the worst," Hikari said. "And what's keeping Taichi? I thought he'd be here by now."

Takeru looked away from the clock, towards where Koushiro was still writing something down. He had a pile of paper next to him, and would reach down every now and then to pick up a sheet, and either discard it or reread it carefully. Never had a Saturday passed so slowly.

He stifled a yawn, and dragged the textbook back to himself. On his third attempt at reading the same paragraph, there was a knock at the door. Hikari immediately stood and went to answer it. Koushiro barely looked up from his note-taking.

Was it tiredness or fear that made the clock move more slowly than everything else? Takeru felt as though time was skipping. One moment there was the sound of the door opening; the next Taichi had appeared opposite him at the table, looking him over with the sort of shocked expression that he'd already gotten sick of.

"Hikari told me what happened, but seeing it is different to hearing it," he remarked, looking over at Koushiro. "I'm still trying to get my head around it. You've been having the nightmares for a week, the same as Hikari?"

Takeru nodded. "How about you?"

Taichi frowned, and shook his head. "More like two. I thought I was doing well at keeping it to myself." He laughed hollowly and gestured to Takeru's arms. "Maybe I'm too stubborn for my own good. If I'd said something sooner we might have been able to prevent that."

Hikari sat down next to her brother. Takeru shook his head.

"There was no evidence that it was a real world until my clothes got burnt," he pointed out.

There was a thud, as Koushiro dropped the notebook and stood, quickly. Takeru practically leapt out of his chair to join him in the bedroom doorway. His heart hammered in his chest. Koushiro put out an arm.

"He's still here," he said. "I just thought I saw something."

Takeru looked over the other boy's arm. Yamato was still there, sleeping peacefully. Nothing was different. Except...

"Koushiro, does it look darker in the room to you?" he asked quietly.

"Not the room," the boy replied, sounding worried. "But Yamato... I think we should wake him. This has gone on long enough. Something isn't right."

Takeru nodded, and rushed over to the bed, calling his brother's name. Yamato didn't stir. The closer he got, the more difficult it got to move; as though the air were getting thicker. Behind him, he heard Koushiro shout something. Then came Hikari's voice, high and panicked.

There was something seriously wrong with Yamato. His body kept getting darker and darker, as though it was being wrapped in shadows, even as the room around him seemed to brighten. Takeru forced himself onwards. He had to reach him. Had to wake him up. Shouting his brother's name again, he threw himself forward, planning to shake him awake.

The moment he touched Yamato, the world went dark. The voices of the others cut off as though they were simply a recording someone had paused. He just had time to start feeling worried before an overwhelming pressure swamped him, and he lost consciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

Someone had been shouting at him. He remembered that. Or was it just that someone was shouting at him now? His head hurt too much to be sure. His eyes opened a crack, and then closed firmly again. It was too bright.

Something dug into his back in several places. His arms stung like anything too. And the shouting hadn't stopped. If anything it had gotten louder. Groaning, he rolled over. The act of moving seemed to shift everything into focus.

"...be so  _stupid_! You knew what we were doing! What the hell were you  _thinking_ , Takeru!"

"Yamato? Is that you?" He coughed. For some reason it felt as though he had inhaled a bag of flour.

"Of course it's me, you, you...  _idiot_!"

Everything hurt. His arms and face more so, but the rest of him ached, like he did after over-exerting himself. He hadn't felt this sore since the time he'd gone straight from a basketball game to the Digital world, whereupon he'd ended up running for his life and almost falling off a cliff. Yamato had been pretty mad at him on that occasion, too. There seemed to be something of a theme to his brother's angry outbursts.

He risked opening his eyes again. The brightness was still somewhat painful, but he could at least manage to see a little this time. He was in a room of some sort, lit with a stark white light. The floor was covered in dust and debris. Yamato was sat in front of him, with his back against the wall and his legs drawn up in front of him, arms draped over his knees. His eyes seemed to catch the light. Wait. Were those... tears?

"Where are we?" Takeru asked, struggling to sit up.

"Where do you  _think_  we are?" his brother said bitterly, looking away. "We both got sucked into this stupid world. I woke up hearing you call my name, and then you appeared out of thin air and fell to the ground beside me. I'm guessing there is a suitably stupid reason for that. The idea was that you  _didn't_  come along too, you know."

Takeru tried to blink the glare away, and looked around. The room was about the size of the living area in his apartment, with a rusted bedframe in one corner, and for some reason a pile of broken dining chairs in another. There was little else in terms of furniture that he could recognise, although fragments of what might have been cabinets were strewn along one wall, and a shelf hung lopsidedly on another, one of the brackets dangling uselessly.

A window revealed that it was dark outside – the light came from a fixture in the ceiling. What little colour there was came from partly rusted tins, and a few scraps of material around the bedframe. There was no door in the doorframe. The light spilled out into a hallway of some sort, but didn't reach far enough for Takeru to see where it went from there.

"So, this is where you've been waking up?"

Yamato nodded. "Normally it's daytime. I suppose it makes a stupid kind of sense for it to be the middle of the night here now, seeing as I went to sleep in the morning."

Takeru frowned. "It must have been almost exactly midday when it happened," he said. I remember seeing that it was almost twelve, and then talking to Taichi for a couple of minutes. Then Koushiro stood up suddenly. It was... it was like you were getting shadowy. We decided it was time to wake you up, but when I touched you, everything went dark."

Yamato groaned. "So it didn't occur to either of you to actually follow through with the plan and  _watch_ , instead of leaping in? Now we're both stuck here. How has that helped anything?"

Takeru shrugged. "It could be worse. At least it's not raining." When Yamato just stared at him blankly, he added: "Compared to where I was waking up, this place doesn't seem so bad."

"Yet," his brother said darkly. "It might not rain, but the locals aren't exactly friendly. We should probably turn the light out to avoid attention. Although there's already a chance it's too late for that."

"Wait. Locals? I thought this place was abandoned?"

Yamato's gaze flickered to the doorway. "The part above the ground is. But, you know how this place works. You said it yourself. Do you really think that just an empty building is the stuff of nightmares?"

Takeru gingerly got to his feet. "Maybe it will be different this time? I mean, I wasn't even asleep when I got sucked here." He walked over to the ruined cupboards and lifted a piece of wood. It snapped off in his hand, releasing a cloud of dust.

Coughing, he stepped back. Yamato hadn't moved. He seemed to be staring off into space.

"Are you going to sit there all day? I mean, night? Or, whatever it is here. That's not going to get us anywhere. We have to find a way home again."

The older boy didn't answer. Takeru was starting to get worried. He knew that his brother took things too seriously sometimes, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen him look so... hopeless. It was as though he'd given up. But why?

"Yamato. You have to get up," he said, crouching in front of his brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. "We can't stay here. Yamato!"

Nothing. Takeru found himself unexpectedly thinking of the Digital world. Gabumon had let slip once that Yamato had struggled with what sounded a lot like depression at one point during their initial adventures, although he had refused to elaborate. Was this what he had meant?

He was torn. He couldn't leave his brother – especially not in the state he was in – but at the same time, if he was going to find any help, he couldn't do it from inside this room. Who knew how long they could be stuck here? Koushiro had been convinced that they could only leave by being scared. Well, there was nothing to scare them in an empty room. Nor was there any clue to an alternative route home. They  _had_  to move, darkness or not.

There was no glass in the window. The light picked up the edge of a shutter, hanging at an angle on the outside of the opening, but beyond that was pitch darkness. Was that just because the room was so bright? If he went into a darker room, would there be more to see? The prospect wasn't particularly appealing, but what alternative did he have?

"Yamato, I'm going to take a look around," he said, half to himself. Hearing it out loud made it sound less of a stupid idea.

He made it halfway to the door before he heard movement. Turning, he saw his brother leap to his feet. Yamato darted over and grabbed him by the upper arm, towing him away from the opening.

"No. Don't go anywhere. You don't know what's out there." Yamato's voice was barely more than a growl. There was an angry glint in his expression which brooked no argument.

"What- what's gotten into you?" Takeru said, trying in vain to pull out of his brother's grip. He was pinned against the wall. Yamato was looking warily at the doorway. The light switch was on the side nearest them.

"I'm going to turn this light off," Yamato said, otherwise ignoring him. "We're drawing too much attention. It'll be safer when the morning here comes."

"Yamato, you're starting to scare me."

"Good. Maybe then you'll get back home. Which is where you  _should_  be." Yamato met his eyes, and faltered. "You shouldn't be  _here_. Not with... them." The anger had gone. Now he just looked haunted. What had he seen, in all those nightmares?

* * *

Takeru rubbed his arm in the dark, gripping the chair leg tightly. Yamato had insisted they get themselves some form of weapon – no matter how crude – before he had turned off the light and plunged them into near darkness.

The doorway was like a black void now. Faint light made its way into the room from the window – Takeru could see stars of a sort, although they too were so saturated that they seemed to draw a pale veil over the entire night sky. It was light enough to make out the silhouette of his brother, who sat motionless, watching the door.

He still hadn't told Takeru what might come through it. Takeru had a feeling this was intentional – that his brother was trying to scare him enough that he got pulled back to the real world. The trouble was that, knowing this, it was difficult to feel anything other than irritation. Yamato's protectiveness could be smothering at times.

It was silent. Takeru hadn't bothered trying to talk after being hushed the first few times. For long minutes his impatience grew; there was no  _need_  for this.

_Tap tap. Tap tap._  Faint enough that he might have imagined it, except that his brother stiffened too.  _Tap tap. Tap tap._  Were those footsteps?

The sound grew louder. He was more sure of it now. Something was moving out there, on feet which struck the ground with a sharp, crisp sound. It was like listening to heels on pavement.  _Tap tap. Tap tap_. Louder still, until there was movement in the inky pool of the doorway. Takeru held his breath, all too aware of how deafening his heartbeat sounded. Would it be better or worse if he could see whatever it was that moved around in the dark?

Something rustled, like dry rice grains pouring into a bowl. The tapping had stopped, and Takeru could make out the faint outline of something in the doorway, standing at waist height. It turned, and two pale eyes peered into the room, seeming to glow from their borrowed starlight. Fear bubbled and simmered in his chest, snatching at his air. But not enough to send them home.

The eyes slowly swept the room, and then fell upon the two brothers. They blinked once, and narrowed. Yamato shifted slightly; positioning himself between the thing and Takeru as it started to growl, softly and menacingly. Takeru tightened his grip on the chair leg. If he'd been able to see them, he was sure his knuckles would have been white.

After a long moment, the growling stopped. The thing looked away, at something on the far side of the wall they crouched again, then returned its gaze to the pair of them. It cocked an indistinct head, as though puzzled, and then vanished. Rapid tapping marked its retreat.

Takeru counted three short breaths of silence before the rumbling started. Faintly at first, and then stronger.

"Yamato, we have to  _go_ ," he whispered, as loudly as he dared. "It's an earthquake – we have to get outside!"

Yamato was already standing. He turned to help Takeru to his feet. The shelf above them rattled on the wall, and the rubble strewn everywhere seemed to dance in the faint light.

"Stick close," he said to Takeru. "I know the way out of here, but I've only done it during daylight."

Takeru nodded, and followed his brother. Right out of the door, and along a corridor so black that he could hardly tell if his eyes were open or closed. Both he and Yamato tripped more than once before reaching a wall.

"Now turn left," came Yamato's voice. "When it opens up, turn right and run straight ahead. We're almost at the door."

There were curious obstacles in their path now. Obstructions which made Yamato curse, as well as Takeru. How long had it been? Thirty seconds now? It felt like years.

There was light enough when he had taken a few more steps that he could see Yamato in front of him. Lumps of masonry had fallen, exposing the stars through walls and part of the missing roof. The shaking was stronger now, and he could see deep, thick cracks in the wall in front of him.

He picked up his pace, as best he could. It was a mad scramble for the pale rectangle he could see in front of him which marked safety. Yamato was almost out – he saw his brother's silhouette in the doorway, and then the starlight on his pale hair. Nearly there. The doorway loomed ahead of him – and he tripped.

Yamato had turned. He saw the look of horror on his face briefly before he looked down to regain his footing. There was a deafening creak, somewhere above him. Six feet between him and the door. He bunched his feet beneath him, hearing Yamato scream his name. Chunks of the wall landed next to him, spraying him with dust and shrapnel. His arms, already painful, burned anew.

He looked up in time to see Yamato, running frantically for the doorway, flicker and disappear. His feet found purchase on the floor, and he thrust forward, launching himself towards the doorway with every last scrap of energy. He hit the ground again just a few feet short of safety, and rolled, landing on his back. The ceiling was caving in, right on top of him. There was no time to do anything but throw his hands over his head in desperation. Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had altogether too much fun writing this chapter. I am clearly a terrible person. You should probably not expect many characters to make it out of this story without at least a few minor injuries.
> 
> This is also the point at which I realised that sticking to a solitary PoV was not going to work in the long run. So, from here on out, you can expect some sections which are not from Takeru's perspective, although as yet I am intentionally limiting the number of PoV characters a little. That resolve may weaken in future as well.


	8. Chapter 8

_11:55am_

Takeru was watching the clock still. The textbook he had suggested they occupy themselves with lay abandoned on the table. She hadn't really expected him to be able to focus on schoolwork, anyway. Not with Yamato lying in what everyone hoped was a natural, normal sleep, and Koushiro watching over him.

"I think the waiting is the worst," she said, looking at the worn expression on Takeru's face. "And what's keeping Taichi? I thought he'd be here by now."

Her eyes stayed on Takeru, as he turned from the clock to look at Koushiro. He didn't even seem to have heard what she'd said. How long had it been since he'd slept? And how long would he last if Koushiro's plan didn't give them any useful information?

After a moment, Takeru reached out blankly for the textbook. She wasn't sure if he was actually reading it or not, but before she worked her way up to asking, there was a knock at the door. She stood, wordlessly.

Taichi waited outside. His expression was locked in a grim frown that she recognised from every time something bad had happened in the digital world.

"How are they both?" he asked, walking in to take his shoes off.

"Yamato is asleep," Hikari said, quietly. "Takeru told me they have a plan to see if there's a way to stop us being taken, or find out if we can work around it. I think Takeru is too worried to concentrate on anything at the moment. I've never seen him look so shaken."

The frown lifted. Underneath was the compassion Taichi was all too ready to mask with bouts of reckless courage. He pulled Hikari into a tight hug.

"We'll fix this, little sister," he said, voice muffled by her shoulder. "If Koushiro's on the job, we can't go wrong."

He walked quickly over to Takeru and put a hand on his shoulder. Hikari smiled. It was moments such as this when she really, truly understood how her brother had ended up as the leader of the Chosen Children when they had been sucked into the Digital world. Even as an eleven year old, he'd had a knack for motivating people, and knowing who he had to lend his moral support.

She'd missed those flashes, over the last few months. With no danger to best, no team to guide, Taichi had fallen back into a bit of a rut. His reunion with Agumon had sparked a renewed passion in the Digital world – he'd taken to packing an overnight bag and spending most of his weekends there, these days. Until a couple of weeks ago.

It was obvious, now she knew what to look for. And it worried her sick. Sitting down next to her brother, she returned her gaze to Takeru.

"There was no evidence it was a real world until my clothes got burnt," her friend was saying. He might have been right. She still wished she'd said something. Alone of the four of them, she had known that the nightmares weren't isolated. She'd known that both she and her brother had been having dreams bad enough to wake them, and she had said nothing. And if anyone got hurt because she had kept quiet...

_Thud_.

Everyone turned to Koushiro. The boy was standing, having dropped his notebook, and staring into Takeru's bedroom. Before Hikari could make the connection, Takeru was halfway to the door. His chair crashed to the ground behind him.

Hikari and Taichi got to their feet too.

"He's still here," Koushiro was saying. "I just thought I saw something." He'd put out an arm to stop Takeru rushing in to his brother.

She didn't hear what Takeru said, but she heard Koushiro's reply.

"Not the room." His arm dropped. "But Yamato... I think we should wake him."

Takeru didn't wait to hear the rest. He nodded once, and ran into the room, yelling his brother's name. Hikari reached the door just as Koushiro cried out for him to stop.

She wanted to scream. Yamato's body was wreathed in black shadows, as though he were fading away. The air around him was growing darker, and Takeru was frozen in the middle of it, moving as though in slow motion. He had tripped, and was falling towards his brother. Shadowy arms reached out from Yamato and entwined themselves around him: arms, legs, all.

She did scream. "Takeru, no! Don't touch him!"

It was too late. The path of his fall brought his hands down on Yamato's back. The shadows rippled over him, and absorbed every trace of his body. When they parted, both boys had vanished into thin air.

Hikari fell to her knees, dropping her head into her hands. They were gone. Both of them were gone, and it was all her fault. Sobbing, she felt hands on her shoulders, which turned into arms that held her. Someone with Taichi's voice pulled her gently, and urged her to get up.

She drifted for a while, disconnected from herself, watching things happen without really registering them. When she came back to herself, she was lying on the sofa. Taichi sat nearby, holding her hand as he had done when she was ill as a girl. It was silent.

"They're gone, aren't they," she said. Taichi hung his head.

It was Koushiro who spoke, from his seat at the dining table. "For now," he said. When Hikari stared at him, he added: "We have to remember that this is something that has been happening already. We just didn't realise. Takeru must have had the same experience last night, as would the pair of you. We know they're in danger, but we also know that so far, it's a temporary disappearance, one which doesn't last much longer than a couple of hours."

"Except that Takeru wasn't asleep," Taichi pointed out. "We don't know if he'll be able to come back the same way as Yamato."

"They could still get hurt there," Hikari added, deliberately trying to ignore what her brother had said. "Takeru is already injured; if anything happens to them, he's not as strong as Yamato right now."

Koushiro nodded. "I think we should call Jou. We know that this world is dangerous. I'm certain that they will come back, but I don't know if they will be injured or not. Yamato told me that he wakes near an apparently abandoned city. He also mentioned menacing creatures which inhabit the place. We know that Takeru experienced some form of abnormal rain. Possibly acidic, although Jou didn't think they were chemical burns. I can't be entirely sure whether Takeru would return to the area he visits while sleeping, or whether he would be transported to the same place as Yamato, but both locations have serious hazards."

"So we might need Jou to patch them up," Taichi said, nodding. Hikari wondered how he could be so calm, then noticed the the pale specks on his knuckles. The hand not holding hers was clenched tight.

With a sudden burst of inspiration, she sat up. "I think we should call their partners. Call all of ours, too." Koushiro and Taichi stared at her. "We've left them out of the loop too long. And... and... now we know that people can get pulled in, it would be good for them to be near."

Koushiro put his hand to his face. "Of course! I'm an idiot not to think of it myself."

"Wait, what? What did I miss?" Taichi asked.

"Well, while our experiment has certainly put Yamato and Takeru in danger, it has also proven that there is more than one way to get into this other world. People who are nearby can get pulled in when someone crosses over. If that worked for Takeru, it would almost certainly work for a digimon. Particularly while injured, it would be a good idea to have your partners there to protect you."

"And if they get stuck there? I'm not taking Agumon anywhere until I know he's got a way home again."

Koushiro faltered, then thumped the table. Hikari jumped. Koushiro was one of the calmest people she knew, next to Iori.

"I need more data!", he said, apparently to himself. "If I could just...  _see_  this place, explore it-"

" _Don't_." They both turned to Taichi, shocked by his sudden outburst, and the anger in his voice.

"Don't you dare wish that," he added, shaking his head. "Trust me, Koushiro, you do not want that experience. And we need you here, in one piece. We need you working on an answer, not getting lost and possibly injured and certainly scared out of your mind."

"I know perfectly well what the dangers are, Taichi. I'm not an idiot. Nor am I a coward. We need answers. It's taking too long for me to get enough useful information as it is."

"Don't care. I won't risk it. You're more important  _here_."

Hikari felt like a fifth wheel. She often did when Taichi and Koushiro argued. It might have been the fact that it always seemed as though there was an extra conversation going on between them that no one else could hear. The two stared at each other, unflinching. It was Koushiro who finally looked away, sighing.

"Very well, I shall remain here. In the short term though, I believe we should call Jou. And at least one of the other Chosen Children, too. Someone else needs to go in search of your partners."

"What about Mrs Takaiashi?" Hiraki asked. "Did Takeru mention what time she finishes work? What if she comes home before they get back, and finds just us here?"

Taichi swore, then took a deep breath. "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it. It's still not long after midday. There's plenty of time. These trips don't normally take too long, right?"

Koushiro nodded, already holding his phone to his ear.

* * *

Hikari was pacing. How long would they have to wait, before they acknowledged aloud that something was wrong? It had been almost an hour, now, and nothing. She was sure that her visits to the other world didn't last more than fifteen or twenty minutes. Jou had arrived, having stopped off at the Izumi residence to collect Koushiro's laptop. The three older boys sat clustered around it, while Koushiro copied up notes and explained them.

Sora had offered to go to the Digital world, to bring back Patamon and Gabumon, along with any other partners who happened to be in range and want a lift. No one knew how long it would be until Mrs Takaiashi would return home, to find her apartment full of everyone except her sons.

" _TAKERU!"_

Yamato's scream made everyone jump. It was followed by a loud thump. Hikari bolted for the door, and found him lying face down on the bed, covered in dust and scratches, shaking with what could only be terror.

"Nonononono..." he muttered, not seeming to see her. Her heart almost stopped. He was alone?

Black shadows flickered and grew from a spot just in front of the bed. Without warning, Takeru dropped out of thin air, hitting his head on the bedframe before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

This time, it was Hikari who screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have our first alternative PoV character! Hope you like the chapter, and please let me know what you think of the story so far! I cannot stress how invaluable feedback is; both in terms of motivation, and pointing out if I start to stray too far OOC. I haven't really written any fanfiction before, so I am wary of screwing up!


	9. Chapter 9

"Takeru.  _Takeru_. Come on, you have to wake up now."

His head hurt. Come to think of it,  _everything_  hurt. Something had happened, hadn't it? It was hard to focus; he couldn't remember what it was. All he could think about was how much his head hurt, and his arms, and how stiff and achey he felt. He just wanted to sleep. Sleep until all the pain went away.

"Stay with us Takeru. It's important to stay awake... Look, I think he needs a real doctor."

"What are we going to tell them happened? They'll never believe the truth."

Why were people being so loud? He just needed to sleep, and then everything would be better. The room was bright, and every time his eyes started to open the light hurt his head. Why couldn't they turn the lights out and leave him alone?

"... is here. Patamon, he's in here in the bedroom."

Wait... Patamon? But Patamon was in the digital world. He hadn't been to see him in a week because of the nightmares.

The nightmares.

In dreadful shuddering waves, his memory came flooding back. Over and over he ran for a pale rectangle that marked safety – and fell short. Yamato cried his name and vanished. And above him, death fell downwards in a tumble of wood and stone.

He didn't even realise he was screaming until he heard Patamon beg him to stop. Patamon was here? Pushing past the throbbing headache, he opened his eyes.

It was disorienting, at first. People seemed to tower over him, stretched unnaturally tall. It took a minute to realise that he was lying on the floor.

"Takeru, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

That was Jou. He blinked, feeling his ragged breathing start to even out.

"I... I'm home?" he croaked, and then broke into a hacking cough. Why was his mouth so dry?

"Okay, good. Now, do you have any numbness or tingling sensations anywhere? We need to know if we can move you or not."

"It just hurts, Jou."

"Okay, Takeru. We'll get you more comfortable in a minute. Just stay with us, okay? I know you're tired but you need to stay awake." He turned to face someone out of sight. "I really don't know that I'm the best person to be doing this. What happened to you two, anyway?"

"There was an earthquake."

"Yamato?" Takeru tried to sit up, then fell back, exhausted. Turning to the side, he saw the others watching from the doorway. Yamato was sat just behind Jou, holding Patamon. Both had almost identical expressions of worry on their faces.

"You need to rest, Takeru," Jou said. "Don't try and sit up."

"I'm okay," he replied. To judge from the sceptical looks which that got, he probably didn't look it. "I'm not  _seriously_  hurt, I mean. It's just aches. And... my arms. What happened?"

Yamato tried to smile. He looked more like he was about to cry. Patamon flew out of his hands and landed so close to Takeru's face that they both went cross-eyed looking at each other.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his partner asked. "You were in trouble and you didn't tell me."

Takeru closed his eyes. Patamon was right, he knew that. But at the same time... it had been such a short time since it had really started. When had there been a chance to go to the Digital world?

"Okay little guy. Hop up out of the way. Let's finish checking him over and then maybe we can get him somewhere more comfortable," Jou said, scooting Patamon into the air.

He got Takeru to move fingers and toes, and checked for numbness. After hearing Takeru's account of what had happened, and looking over his head for any signs of injury, he finally allowed Taichi and Yamato to help him up onto the bed. They propped him up with pillows, and cushions from the living area.

It was a shock, seeing how filthy and battered he and Yamato both looked. They had scrambled through the building in such a rush that he hadn't even fully registered Yamato falling down. And yet his brother's face was filthy, save for tear tracks, and they were both covered in scrapes, bruises, and at least a few deeper cuts.

"I take it back," he said, after taking a sip from a cup of water Jou handed him. "Maybe your place  _is_  as bad." His brother smiled, barely.

Patamon settled into a comfy spot by his hip, and closed his eyes. It didn't seem as though he were prepared to move any time soon.

Yamato shooed the others out of the room and sat on the bed. Gabumon remained in the room, sitting close enough to the bed that Yamato could rest a hand on his shoulder. For a few minutes they sat in silence.

"I didn't know I'd get sucked in," Takeru said at last. "I mean, I don't know that I would have stayed back if I  _had_  known, but I didn't. The plan was just to wake you up."

Yamato sighed. "I know. It was just a rather nasty shock seeing you appear in my own personal nightmare, is all. And then, when that building came down, and you were still inside..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"You vanished," Takeru said, picking at one of the dressings on his arm. It was a miracle they had held up as well as they had. "You were running back to help and that place kicked you out. But hey. We're both alive, right? So it could be worse."

Yamato looked at him, eyebrows raised. Then, abruptly, he burst out laughing.

"You never change, Takeru," he said, standing up. "I'm going to get Jou. He's still insisting we both go to a clinic so a real doctor can check us over."

"You think that's a good idea?"

Yamato paused by the door handle. "For me? No, I'm fine. But, you hit your head pretty hard Takeru. And look at your arms. You were injured to start with, and then got trapped in a house that was falling down. If you don't see someone today, you'd better plan to go on Monday. Jou told me about the blisters, and how they can get infected."

"I hate you when you're right," Takeru said, wincing as he tried to fold his arms. He let them drop by his sides again, making sure to avoid Patamon.

"What are brothers for?" Yamato said cheerfully, walking out of the room. Gabumon looked over at the bed before following him, and nodded at Takeru. He understood. He'd keep an eye on the older boy, when the others left and he no longer had to pretend to be fine.

Takeru sat in silence for a minute or so, before Patamon turned around.

"Are you going to tell me what happened now?"

He sighed. "I suppose I should. I hadn't meant to keep it from you. It just all happened so quickly. I can't believe it's been less than a full day already."

* * *

_Saturday, 5:00pm_

"Well we have to think of  _somewhere_  we can go," Koushiro said. "If the four of you are at risk of vanishing in your sleep, someone needs to be there – to alert the others if you go, and to help if you're injured when you return. That would take a little too much explaining for parents to understand. Much as I have theories as to how this all works, they're still very much untested – and as Yamato and Takeru proved earlier, this is still something which can work unexpectedly, causing major complications!"

Taichi shrugged. "I'll keep watch over Hikari, and Yamato has already said that he'll watch Takeru. I don't see what the problem is. We can sort out the rest in the morning. You're not going to be able to help if you're dead on your feet, Koushiro. You need sleep more than any of us, because you're the one we're counting on to work this whole thing out!"

"But Taichi, I think you're missing the point," Sora said, leaning across the table. "You and Yamato are already worn out. What happens if you can't stay awake? Then all four of you would vanish. You need someone there who isn't being affected by this."

"Well then, Agumon can keep an eye on me, Tailmon can watch Hikari..."

"Taichi, I don't think that will work," Takeru said. "If we start getting sucked in, can we really expect our partners to hold back? Much as I don't want any of them in danger, if I get pulled in again, I don't think Patamon would just sit and watch."

From atop his head, Patamon cried: "Of course I wouldn't! I'm not letting you out of my sight again until this is over, Takeru." From their positions around the table, Tailmon, Agumon and Gabumon voiced their agreement.

There was silence.

"Then we need to call in some of the other Chosen Children," Yamato said at last. "Jou shouldn't stand watch – he has to study, and we will need his help if anyone is injured."

"Besides," Takeru said. "I called him up in the middle of the night once already. He needs to rest. Koushiro too."

Koushiro shook his head. "I need to be awake. The sooner I can work out what's going on, the better. And as I won't be sleeping anyway, I might as well keep watch over one of you."

"Why don't you watch over Taichi," Sora said. "Hikari will need to call either Mimi or Miyako to keep watch, and they can help make sure that you stay awake too."

"What about you, Sora?" Jou asked. Yamato cleared his throat. "Oh. Nevermind then."

"Takeru?" said Taichi. "Who's your first choice?"

Takeru frowned. It was strange to be thinking about who he would rather have watching him while asleep.

"Daisuke," he said at last. When the response was an array of somewhat surprised expressions, he added: "It's not fair to drag Ken into this unnecessarily, and Iori is too young. Who else is there?"

The silence continued for a few more seconds until Koushiro nodded. "It's a fair point. Okay, I think it's time to start making phone calls. We've got a long night ahead of us."

* * *

Telling his mother what had happened in the last twenty-four hours was not going as he had planned. Although, "not as planned" was a somewhat misleading way of thinking, since he hadn't actually made a plan at all.

Mrs Takaishi had been involved with things relating to the digital world before. She knew of some of the dangers they had faced. Takeru had thought that, along with Koushiro's parents, she was one of the most relaxed and supportive of their links to the digital world and the dangers they faced there.

Apparently, this relaxed attitude did not extend to coming home and finding her youngest son covered in bruises and burns. It had taken everything in Takeru's power to convince her that Patamon was not guilty in some way, and to persuade her  _not_  to throw things at him for letting it happen.

Now, having heard the full story, she was crying. Takeru looked helplessly at Patamon. What was he meant to say? He'd been cheerfully oblivious on that day he'd sailed off into peril on Ikkakumon's back. Explanations had been so much easier then. And at least with Oikawa it had been a less immediate danger – it was all safely over before she knew the full details.

"Koushiro's doing all he can to get hold of Gennai, and to work out what's going on so we can stop it," he managed at last. "And, that's why I've asked Daisuke to come over tonight. There might be a way to stop it happening."

"And I'll be there to protect him this time, Takeru's mum," Patamon added. "I won't let anything bad happen."

"You think I'm just going to go to bed, knowing what might happen?" she asked, wiping her tears away. "What kind of mother would that make me?"

"It's not... I'm not asking you to be somewhere else, mum. But Daisuke is one of us. If... if anything happens, he can get hold of the others straight away, using his D-Terminal."

"And you can take that with you too, yes? If... if you get taken away, you'll still be able to use it to talk to the others?"

Takeru gaped. He was aware of Patamon bouncing up and down excitedly in his peripheral vision. How had none of them – not even Koushiro – thought of that?

"I... we haven't tested that. But, possibly? I'll make sure to keep it and my D3 on me the whole time. Oh, that'll probably be Daisuke at the door. I'll get it."

He started tapping out a message to Koushiro as he walked to the door, mentally kicking himself for not having thought of it himself. No doubt Koushiro would feel the same. If they had a way to stay in touch, no matter where they were, that would be a huge relief. Hitting send, he opened the front door.

"Oh  _man_. I mean, I know Koushiro said you got hurt and all, but he never said you were  _totally_  beat up!"

Takeru sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Daisuke," he said dryly, letting the other boy in.

"How's Hikari, and all the others? I can't believe things are kicking off again and I'm outta the loop."

"I'm not exactly sure it's a loop you want to be part of, you know," Takeru said. "I mean, I'd happily trade places with you if I could, but I have to admit you'd be getting a raw deal."

Daisuke grinned. "Well, if I get really bored I can always tag along for the ride, right?"

Takeru blinked, not sure if he'd heard correctly. "Uh, you do know what this place  _is_ , don't you? I almost got crushed to death just a few hours ago."

"Oh, well sure. But you didn't, did you? I mean, you got zapped outta there before anything permanent happened. So what's the worry about?" Daisuke sat down on the sofa, shrugging.

"But Takeru said you can only leave if you get very scared," Patamon said, flying over. "If you aren't scared, you wouldn't get brought back."

"Can you be sure about that though? I mean, you've known this for all of one day."

"Do you  _really_  want to test that out?" Takeru asked, incredulous. "My goal in all of this is to avoid going there completely, if it can be helped."

"You planning to stay up all night then?" Daisuke replied, folding his arms.

Takeru sighed and hung his head, wondering what had possessed him to think Daisuke had been a good person to call.

"Are you intentionally trying to make me feel more hopeless about all of this?" he asked eventually.

Daisuke frowned. "Course not. I'm just curious. I mean, no one has told me how this whole thing works yet. I just got a call from Koushiro out of the blue asking if I've had any nightmares recently, and then a few hours later  _you_  called and told me you need me to babysit you or whatever."

Patamon harrumphed. "Takeru does not need a babysitter, Daisuke. You need to be here incase he gets taken away to the other place, so you can tell the others, and so you can alert them if he's injured when he gets back. You'll need to send a message to Koushiro straight away."

Takeru stifled a yawn. Part of him wanted to collapse from exhaustion now, and just accept that he couldn't escape a return to the nightmare world. The rest of him saw the obvious sense in trying to delay the inevitable – particularly as he wasn't sure he was in a fit state to avoid danger.

The time inched by. His mother hardly let him out of her sight, even while she was cooking. Eating only increased the weariness creeping over him. He caught himself nodding off at the table, and looked up to three worried faces watching him.

"I'm fine," he said shortly.

"Perhaps you should go and lie down for a while," his mother suggested. "I could wake you in a couple of hours. You did say it won't happen until late at night."

He looked at the clock. It was only half six – that should be time enough to regain some lost energy. Nodding, he got to his feet.

"Wake me around ten?" he asked. "I could probably sleep later, but I don't know that I want to risk it."

Daisuke got to his feet as well. "So what, I sit and watch you then?"

Patamon nodded. "That's what Koushiro said."

* * *

_Saturday, 10:00pm_

Takeru woke at ten – barely. Messages from the others confirmed that Yamato, Taichi and Hikari were struggling to stay awake too. Night after night of broken sleep had worn them down.

He tried playing video games, but after losing for the fifth time in a row to Daisuke, it became obvious that he wasn't able to focus. His mother hovered in the background, trying to watch over him without making it obvious that she was doing so.

Increasingly, he became aware that he was missing things – little skips of time where he was nodding off, to be woken by Patamon, or by Daisuke making a loud remark. As the hands on the clock crawled towards midnight, the skips seemed to happen more often, and last longer.

"Hey, you gotta stay awake, Takeru."

He wasn't sure who had said it this time. He just nodded, and forced his eyes open once more. He had to stay awake. Had to stay in the real world. Had to ignore the part of him that just wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep...

Sleep. It inched over him, slowly enough that he didn't even notice. His mumbled "I'm awake" got slower, and less distinct, until even Patamon shaking him didn't elicit a response. He would just rest his eyes for a while, that was all. It wasn't sleeping to lie back on his bed. He was still awake. It would be fine...

Nearby, waves were crashing on a beach. He could hear branches rustling in a stiff breeze. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing on a grassy field, in between a beach and a forest. The wind was picking up. He was back.


	10. Chapter 10

He knew he should have been feeling scared. He'd fallen asleep, and gotten sucked back into the nightmare world, despite all his efforts. He was scarcely less tired than he had been at home, and his body was a jumble of connected aches and pain. The wind was already picking up. If things ran to form, he was in imminent danger of further injury, and he had this to look forward to every time he fell asleep.

But somehow, all he could feel was confusion. Why wasn't he in the water? Every other night, he'd woken up ankle deep in the sea – but this time he was stood in the same field he'd left. It didn't make any _sense_.

"Takeru?"

He whirled around on the spot, and saw Patamon looking up at him from the ground. His partner was looking around with eyes partly closed.

"You're here! Then you..."

"I made sure Daisuke and your mother didn't touch you," Patamon said, flapping his wings and hovering at eye height. "You went all dark and shadowy, Takeru. It was scary. But I promised I wouldn't let you come here alone again. So here I am!"

Takeru managed a smile. "I know I shouldn't be, but I'm glad you're here." His face fell. "But we have to find shelter, Patamon, and quickly. It'll start raining soon."

Patamon nodded. "The trees?" he asked. "It's better than being in the open." Without waiting for Takeru to reply, he flew over to the edge of the wood, and started peeking between the branches.

Takeru threw one last look around him. The wind was certainly picking up now, and darker clouds were washing over the sky. The green of the grass and the trees was so rich it almost hurt. Something was bothering him about it all. It hovered on the edge of his mind, tantalising him, but staying just out of reach. What was it? What was so wrong?

There wasn't time now to dwell on it. Those dark clouds looked just as ominous as they had the night before. Wincing at the aches in his legs, he started to run towards Patamon. He was calling him towards a gap in the bushes that marked the edge of the wood.

"Quick Takeru – it will be safer in here. These leaves look very thick!"

The gap wasn't big – Patamon could fit through it easily, but Takeru had to crouch down and push branches out of the way to fit through. Twigs poked him, and he tried not to think about the burns on his arms. Jou had re-dressed them, and then wrapped a layer of gauze bandage over the whole of each arm to shield the wounds from further damage. He looked ridiculous, but it was better than the alternative. Even with the bandages, each twig or stick which knocked into him sparked a renewed pain somewhere.

The wind was less inside the wood. Past the first few feet, the undergrowth died back – there was too little light filtering down from the canopy to allow much to grow underfoot. A litter of dead and dying leaves lay everywhere, with small, lurid wildflowers peeping up here and there. Over head, the trees groaned, their branches caught by the growing gale.

"I don't know how much shelter we'll have here," Takeru called over the noise. "We need to keep moving. Maybe there's a fallen tree somewhere, or something else that we can shelter under."

Patamon nodded. They trudged onwards, looking around them for shelter that seemed impossible to find – as the wind grew stronger and the borrowed light under the canopy began to dim. At any moment, Takeru expected to feel burning droplets, but none came. Why was it taking so long this time?

"There! Takeru, look!" Patamon darted off to the side. Against all the odds, there was something a little way ahead, nestled between the trees. As they drew closer, they realised it was an actual shelter – a crumbling brick structure, half covered in ivy. There was no door, and any glass or shutters had long since fallen out of the windows and been buried, but it had a sturdy enough roof. Rusty tracks ran nearby.

"Looks as though there was a railway here at one point," Takeru said. "Maybe this was some sort of signal box?"

It was lighter here. The trees were thinner, no doubt due to the train tracks which ran through the woods. The wind was stronger too, with fewer obstructions. Patamon tugged at Takeru's hand.

"Come on, we need to get inside. You said it would hurt you if you got wet in the rain, and it looks like it will start soon!"

Takeru nodded, and they ran for cover. Finally, from the canopy overhead came that sizzling sound from the previous night. They were just in time. Rain began to fall in earnest, turning the rich colours of the woodland floor black. Safe at last inside the shelter, Takeru began to realise what had been wrong all this time.

"That field was green," he said, turning to Patamon. "It doesn't make sense. There was this same burning rain yesterday, and there were black patches all over that field. But today, it was all back to normal. All green again. How is that possible?"

Patamon shrugged, settling down on a pile of broken boxes. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask Koushiro? Does your D-Terminal work?"

Takeru fumbled in his pocket. "Of course!" He pulled out the D-Terminal, and opened it, tapping out a message. "I really hope they get this," he said, and hit send.

Next, he pulled out his D3, and looked at the screen. If it was working – and if the others had been pulled back here as well – would it be able to lead him to them? The screen looked dead, which wasn't a particularly encouraging sign.

He sighed, letting his arm drop. "Well, it's not looking good so far, Patamon. MyD3 isn't picking up anything, at least. I don't know if that's because they're too far away, or if they simply don't work here."

"So what do we do now?"

They both looked out of the open doorway at the rain. Clouds of steam were rising where it struck the ground. Takeru walked over to the opening, and held his hand as close to the falling drops as he dared.

"It's hot," he said slowly. "Whatever it is, I think it burns the ground through heat, not acid or anything like that. I suppose that's a little encouraging. At least I don't have to worry about being poisoned by it."

"Please come away from there," Patamon said. "It might not be acid or poison, but it's still very dangerous you know."

Takeru sighed. "I wasn't going to venture out or anything. I was just curious. I wonder what else is in this place."

He ventured towards the side away from the door. The floor was littered with junk and leaf litter which had been blown in through the doorway. Old counters covered in dials and switches were set along one wall, with a couple of partly disintegrated stools sat in front of them. It all looked as though it had been abandoned for years. Decades, even. Towards the rear of the room was another doorway, leading into a much darker room. The faint light came from the gaps between a curtain of plant life which obstructed a window. He could just about make out what seemed to be a stairwell, leading underground, and a few other items of furniture, left in situ from whatever use they had once held. Nothing seemed to have disturbed the place. It was decidedly creepy.

There was nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Koushiro had not replied to his message, either. Bored, he and Patamon had gone over their shelter inch by inch. After the initial explorations it became clear that the building had been long forgotten by whoever had built it here – if anyone had. Certainly the digital world was full of inexplicable things which had apparently sprouted there of their own accord. Still, its ruinous state implied that there had been a time when it  _wasn't_  ruined. Things in the Digital world always appeared to be new. The abandoned house he had been in with Yamato also pointed towards people – whether human or otherwise – having been here at some point. Where had they gone?

"Takeru, look! The rain is stopping." Patamon hovered near the door. "The wind has stopped too. It's getting bright again!"

Takeru smiled ruefully. "Well, that's good, Patamon. But look at the ground. Can I really go out and walk on that? We can't both fly, you know."

Patamon stared at him. "I could carry you if I digivolved," he pointed out.

"But we don't know how long we'll be stuck here. Or where we'd be going. In all honesty, I don't know how we're going to get back at this point. Without that rain, there's nothing here at the moment that's scary enough to do the trick."

They stood or hovered in silence for a minute. Patamon eventually flew back to the stack he had claimed as a resting spot, and settled down.

"So what will we do, Takeru? We can't stay here forever. There's nothing to eat!"

"Well, maybe-" he was cut off by a beeping sound.

"Takeru, Takeru! It's your D-Terminal! It's a message! It works!"

He almost dropped it, so quick was he fumbling to get it out.

"I know that, Patamon," he said, unable to help himself laughing. "Now just let me see what it says."

_:Daisuke tells me you are in other world. Please message to confirm if Terminals have reception:_

The time-stamp on the message read a couple of minutes after midnight.

"That's odd," Takeru said. "This seems like it was sent right after we got here, but, surely we've been here a couple of hours by now. Why has it taken so long for the message to get through? Unless that storm interfered with the signal somehow?"

Patamon shrugged. "Does that mean he didn't get your message?"

"Well, if I got his, that should mean mine got through. Though probably it only just arrived." He frowned, checking the time on his terminal. "That means they've had no word from me for the last...  _three_ _hours_. And that I've been here far longer than I ever was before." He could feel a growing unease welling up inside him. What if that rainstorm had been his only ticket home?

The terminal beeped again.

_:Takeru, just got your message. You sent that a while ago? There must be interference. Can you confirm what is happening?:_

_:Patamon and I found shelter. Both safe, but not sure how to get home. How are the others?:_

He looked outside. The clouds appeared to be dispersing. He'd felt the heat coming off the raindrops. Surely it was only that which had caused the burning? There certainly didn't seem to be any puddles on the blackened ground.

"I think we should go look outside, Patamon. You're right. There's no point staying here." He walked over to the door, and gingerly put a foot down on the blackened ground, ready to haul it back if anything happened.

Nothing. He took another step, half closing his eyes as he stepped out into the glare of the woods. The ground felt warm, but not unpleasantly so. Curious, he crouched down and held out a hand, testing the heat. Patting the ground gingerly, he discovered that it was not uncomfortable to the touch.

"It's okay, Patamon. You can come out and land. It's safe."

His partner flew over, looking cross. "Takeru, what were you doing! I turn my back for just a minute and you start taking risks? You spend too much time with Daisuke!"

Takeru raised his eyebrows. "Patamon, unless you want us both to starve, or to be stuck here forever, we're going to have to take risks. And, this place can't be all bad. There has to be a reason we're here. A reason why it's the four of us."

Patamon sniffed, doing his best "pretending to be cross" face.

"Well, I still think we should be careful," he said.

Takeru's D-terminal beeped, cutting off his reply. He flipped it open. The message made his heart sink.

_:Taichi made it back, but he was the only one. Hikari and Yamato messaged to say they are safe for now. Is your D3 working?:_

Perhaps it was time to find out. He looked up again. Patamon's expression had changed to one of concern.

"It's bad news?"

Takeru half shrugged. "Depends how you look at it really. Taichi is the only one to make it back home so far. But Yamato and Hikari are safe. Oh, and Koushiro wants us to find out if you can digivolve. It seems we will be flying, after all."

Patamon nodded. "Maybe we'll be able to work out where we are from the air. Or if there are any people anywhere."

Takeru looked around at the blackened undergrowth. "Well, it certainly ought to beat just waiting here for more rain. We need to be careful though. It's no good you using up all your energy now, when we don't know how long we'll be here. I don't know how likely we are to find food anywhere nearby, either."

He unhooked his D3.

"Well, here goes nothing. I think we need Pegasusmon this time. No offence, but it's more comfortable that way."

Patamon nodded. "Besides, you're so big now that if I carry you as Angemon my arms start to ache. At least when I get bigger I go back to my normal size afterwards. Sometimes I wonder why you humans only grow one way. It would be a lot easier if you could get small again you know."

He couldn't help it – he laughed. Sure, he was trapped in an unknown world with no obvious way back, and no idea of where to go next. But he wasn't alone any more. It was a lot easier to be optimistic when he had his partner with him.

Light even brighter than the over-saturated sky filled the air as he held his D3 aloft. He was forced to look away; merely closing his eyes wasn't enough. It wasn't until he turned back and saw Pegasusmon standing before him that he realised he had been holding his breath. Exhaling, he flipped his D-Terminal open, and tapped out his message to Koushiro.

"Right then," he said, tucking it back into his pocket. Let's go take a better look at this place, shall we?"


	11. Chapter 11

The forest – it was definitely too large to be called a wood – stretched out across a vast chunk of the horizon. Above the leaf canopy, the light was almost too bright to bear. With the rain gone, sunlight was breaking through the clouds in great beams, adding to the riot of colour. Takeru wondered if his eyes would ever adjust to it. Interestingly, the rain shower appeared to have only affected a narrow strip of land leading away from the coast – they were almost at its edge already.

It wasn't easy to orient himself without any way to tell which was north or south. Still, roughly behind him lay the ocean, stretching out as far as he could see. A large island seemed to lay offshore further along the beach, but other than that there were no distinctive features. In the other direction, the forest seemed to extend along the coast as far as he could see. In the distance, parallel to the shoreline, he thought he could make out what looked like a mountain range of some sort. The forest seemed to reach almost to its feet.

Where was the city that Yamato had mentioned? There certainly didn't seem to be any open ground for houses within sight. No wonder nothing showed up on his D3. They might be in the same world, but they were scattered to the winds.

"We might as well go down again for now," he said at last. "I don't think there's much to gain from being up here."

Pegasusmon shook his head. "We're not that far above the trees. Let me take us higher up first, to get a better view."

Takeru gripped his neck tighter. "Okay, but just remember that we might need you to digivolve again at some point, and we don't know where to find food. Don't use up all your energy now."

As they climbed higher into the air though, Takeru's concerns faded away. Despite the brightness that made it a little uncomfortable to look at, there was no denying the beauty it held. It was like something out of a picture. The forest stretched for mile after mile, but now he could see that it had an end, away in the opposite direction to that island. The mountain range which ran parallel to the ocean was clearer too – it was a ridge of barren stone, although not tall enough to be capped with snow. In the real world it would have looked wildly out of place and unnatural, but Takeru was accustomed enough to strange geography that he scarcely noted that fact.

More importantly was what he could see to the other edge of the forest. Just visible on the edge of the horizon was a dark smudge, surrounded by pale yellow. Could that be where his brother was? Inspiration struck, and he fished for his D-Terminal, taking his time in the cold, thinner air. He couldn't risk dropping it.

_:Yamato, can you see any signs of a forest where you are?:_

Either his brother would get the message or not. If he didn't hear back soon, he'd try relaying the message via Koushiro. His earlier communications suggested that the other boy had managed to get in touch with the others from the real world. Keeping in contact with one another had gotten a lot easier after Koushiro worked out how to modify the phones of the original Chosen Children to have similar functions to D-Terminals.

His eyes kept getting drawn back to that line of mountains. Hadn't Hikari said that she woke between cliffs and a forest? There was a chance she was somewhere in that direction. But where? It would take days to search along it, even with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon both in the air. This world was vast – every bit as large as the Digital one.

They could at least see that the line of the railway tracks stretched out into the distance. Presumably there would be further shelters along that path through the trees. A few miles off, it looked as though the track diverged. The trees seemed markedly thinner there.

Pegasusmon had begun to fly in the direction of the clearing before Takeru even had time to point it out. They were thinking the same thing again. It never took long.

By looking down as they followed the path of the railway, Takeru saw two more brick structures before they reached the clearing. It seemed that they were dotted all along the tracks. It was good to know that there were plenty of places he could shelter - now they just had to worry about finding food and water.

At last, four hooves clattered down onto stone. A small platform stood in the triangle where the tracks diverged, with a couple of benches and a sign so worn that the words could no longer be made out. What remained of the lettering didn't look to be in any language Takeru recognised anyway. He slid down from Pegasusmon's back, yawning, and resisted the temptation to rub his eyes. His face was sore enough already.

Behind him, a sudden glow marked a devolution back into Patamon, enough to cast shadows briefly. Takeru didn't look round – he was already on his way over to the nearest building, which looked like some sort of station. Perhaps there would be clues at least; there were clearly no people.

The door still hung on the hinges, and creaked ominously as he pushed it open. Patamon squeaked a protest and flew over, landing on his head.

"Don't wander off without me!" he said indignantly.

Takeru smiled. He didn't have the heart to tell Patamon that he was a little too tired for his head to be a perch. The building was light and airy inside, albeit far too bright. It certainly seemed like the interior of a train station, albeit a very old-fashioned one. A ticket office dominated one side, with benches around the other walls. Doorways led into three other rooms. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust.

"This place is strange," Patamon said. "I don't like it."

"Me neither," Takeru replied. "I wonder what happened here. And how long ago it was."

They walked through the waiting room to the nearest doorway, which turned out to lead into an office. The chair sat a short way back from the desk, and sheets of paper were scattered across it and the floor. A clock hung on the wall, frozen at a little after ten past three.

Takeru shook his head quickly, accidentally dislodging Patamon in the process. He was getting increasingly drowsy. The little bit of sleep he'd snatched that evening wasn't enough. He looked back out into the waiting room, and frowned.

"No one's been here in years, right Patamon?"

"Well, it definitely looks like it's been abandoned a long time. And there are no footprints except yours..."

Takeru nodded, and walked back out into the larger room, heading for a bench in the corner. He swept as much of the dust away as he could, coughing as it filled the air in clouds. The seat was upholstered with leather. It had cracked a little, but still gave a little when he pressed it.

"I need to sleep, Patamon," he said, by way of an explanation. His partner was hovering in front of him, looking worried. "If... if we're going to be stuck here, we both need to be fighting fit. That means me too. I'm no good if I'm dead on my feet."

"You should send a message to Koushiro first."

Takeru groaned, and rubbed his forehead. "Right, of course. I should have thought of that." Yawning, he pulled the D-Terminal out again. There had been no reply from Yamato, which was troubling. Still, perhaps he could only get a link to the real world from here. He had to keep hoping that Yamato and Hikari were okay.

_:Have found a building. It's empty, looks like a train station. Tired. Tried to call Yamato, but no reply. Want to know how he is, but can't stay awake much longer. Going to sleep. It seems safe here:_

There. It would do. It would have to, because he certainly wasn't capable of typing anything else. His eyelids were growing heavy, dragging his head down with them. The bench wasn't particularly comfortable, but he was so exhausted he didn't care. He lay down with his legs dangling over the edge of the bench, and felt Patamon land in front of him, sitting by his stomach.

"I'll keep watch, Takeru," his partner said.

He was asleep before he could reply.

* * *

_Saturday, 11:45pm_

The Yagami residence was quiet. It had to be. Taichi and Hikari's parents hadn't minded one friend staying over, but they had drawn the line at two. Miyako had snuck in after Mr and Mrs Yagami had gone to bed, not long before 11pm.

Hikari and Taichi both looked exhausted. They had convened in Taichi's bedroom for the time being, rather than risk waiting out in the living room. Koushiro alternated between typing furiously and watching the others. It was good that Miyako had been able to sneak in. There was no way he would have been able to manage everything by himself.

The plan had been for Hikari and Miyako to be in Hikari's bedroom, so that the younger girl had some privacy to sleep. That plan had been thrown out a few hours previously, when they had been unable to get Miyako into the house openly. If there was still a chance that Taichi and Hikari could be safe that night, both siblings had agreed that it would be easier for their parents not to know. Which meant keeping a low profile. If the pair did get pulled in to the other world, it made no sense for Koushiro and Miyako to be stranded in different rooms.

"Taichi," Agumon said quietly. "You look like you need to rest."

Taichi shook his head rapidly, and rubbed at his eyes. "That's it Agumon. Time for you to go sit on the other side of the room. I don't want you getting pulled into this with no way home." His expression was firm. No matter what the others had said, Taichi hadn't budged on his insistence that his partner not get pulled in to the other world with him. It was the closest Koushiro had seen the pair get to a falling out.

Hikari yawned. "I don't think I can stay awake much longer," she said, leaning back against the wall. "I'm sorry Taichi."

Miyako stood awkwardly next to her. "Should I… is there anything I can do?" she asked, looking between Hikari and Koushiro. Tailmon was talking quietly to Agumon in the corner.

Koushiro hated how helpless he felt. The replies he'd had from Gennai so far were virtually useless - the only thing that either of them could confirm was that this world was neither the digital one nor another area of the Dark Ocean. Not ten minutes before, Taichi at least had been optimistic about holding out until 1am before he slept, but now both he and Hikari could scarcely keep their eyes open. It had the ring of something unnatural about it. More questions which needed answers.

The clock on his laptop marked it as being ten minutes until midnight. He was ten minutes away from confirming his first theory about the whole thing, but for once he felt no pleasure at all about the prospect of information. He had seen the expression on Yamato's face as Takeru fell out of thin air in front of them all. It wasn't something he was likely to forget in a hurry, much as he might want to.

Taichi shuffled further away from Hikari on the bed. "Don't fall asleep on me," he mumbled. It didn't appear as though he was fully awake himself. Koushiro looked at Miyako. She was watching with her arms wrapped around her stomach, worry written all over her face.

He cleared his throat. "Miyako," he said. "You know that you must be absolutely quiet, if they do vanish?"

She looked up, startled. "What?"

"We can't risk waking Mr and Mrs Yagami. Taichi told me earlier that he is certain he can return unharmed, as long as Agumon remains here. Hikari thinks she can too. I suspect that their inability to remain awake is connected, somehow. I am almost certain that both will shortly be pulled into this other world. When that happens, no matter what, you must stay quiet, and do not touch them. I don't yet know if you can be taken as well, but I am not willing to take that chance."

Miyako nodded. "I still don't understand why Agumon has to stay here, though."

Koushiro sighed. He wasn't entirely sure he understood Taichi's reasoning himself. "What Taichi faces each night in this world is different to Takeru's experience. He is surrounded by hostile creatures, which he is certain wish him harm. His explanation has been that if Agumon goes with him, these creatures will likely be defeated, therefore leaving them with no way home."

"He's just going to go alone, knowing that he could be… be eaten alive or something?"

Agumon nodded gloomily. "I trust Taichi, but I wish there was another way," he said.

Koushiro was watching his laptop. 11:59. He looked up, counting seconds in his head. A few seconds after the minute ticked over he became aware of a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. At the same time, Taichi's body began to darken. Shadows which were not cast from anything in the room fell rapidly across him, blotting out the colour in his clothes, skin and hair. Hikari fared the same, although the shadows did not appear to be taking her as quickly. Both were surrounded by a dark haze. Within a minute Taichi was merely a silhouette on the bed. Before Hikari's features were lost to the growing darkness, Taichi's silhouette dissolved, and was gone.

Miyako clapped a hand over her mouth. From the high, keening sound she made, Koushiro reasoned it was to suppress a scream. Tailmon pushed past them all, despite Agumon's attempts to pull her back.

"Let go!" she cried. "I can't let that happen to Hikari. I have to protect her!" She swung her tail around in an arc which knocked Agumon to the ground, and leapt to her partner. As Hikari's body started turning to pure darkness, her paw connected. The shadows threw out dark tendrils which coiled rapidly around the digimon and absorbed her too. Darker and darker their bodies grew, until it was as though something had cut a shape out of the world. Light filtered through the silhouettes, and their bodies broke up into clouds which dispersed rapidly.

Koushiro had stood as Tailmon ran past, almost knocking over his laptop in the process. Now he gripped Miyako by the shoulders, and steered her over to the desk and its chair.

"Sit," he said. She was shaking all over. "They're okay. Taichi knows what he is doing, and Hikari now has Tailmon with her. The best we can do is be here when they get back."

She nodded mutely. Koushiro returned to his laptop and loaded the chat programme he had written for communicating with the others. A message popped up immediately from Daisuke.

_:Takeru vanished and Patamon went too. Mrs Takaishi is panicking. Help me!:_

"Damn it," Koushiro muttered. At Miyako's questioning look, he added: "Takeru couldn't stay awake. Apparently Mrs Takaishi hasn't taken it well. Daisuke wants advice, but I'm not entirely certain what I can tell him. I'm still waiting for Gennai to get back to me with some information he had promised, and until then I really don't know what to suggest."

Agumon sighed. "I wish I was with Taichi. I should be protecting him. What if he gets hurt because I'm not there?"

"You can't think like that," Koushiro said, tapping out a message to Takeru. He hit send, praying it would get through. "We have to stay optimistic. There's every reason to suppose he will be unharmed when he returns - he has done so previously."

The messenger beeped, and he clicked through. Seeing who had sent it he sighed, resignedly.

_:Yamato is gone. Gabumon too. It was as though something was making him drowsy, Koushiro. They'll be okay, won't they?:_

"Well, that makes four," he said softly. "Now we wait."

* * *

"Waiting" wasn't strictly an accurate word to describe the next hour. Even after calming Sora and Daisuke, Koushiro was kept busy by messages from Yamato and Hikari, describing where they were. Yamato had started to explore some of the other buildings in the area, searching for clues, while Hikari was skirting the forest with Tailmon, looking for materials to make a torch. She did not intend to venture into the caves again without a light source.

There had been no word from Taichi, or Takeru. As the minutes passed, Koushiro focused on translating some old texts which Gennai had finally sent him - neither of them yet knew if they would be relevant, but they apparently contained references to worlds other than the digital one. Agumon watched intently.

Miyako had fallen asleep at Taichi's desk. Koushiro had scarcely noticed - between translating and responding to messages he was well-occupied. It was Agumon who gave him the warning.

"Something feels funny…"

Before Koushiro had time to ask what he meant, Taichi burst out of a sudden eruption of shadows. His terrified yell woke Miyako, who shrieked in turn. Agumon raced over, tripping in his haste and landing with a loud thump just short of the bed. Koushiro groaned. So much for quiet.

There was just time for Taichi to look around and ask where Hikari was before Mr Yagami rapped on the door and demanded to know what was going on. To judge from the fact he hadn't opened it, his suspicions were entirely on the wrong track.

Taichi threw Koushiro a panicked look. All Koushiro could manage was a helpless shrug. It wasn't his father who they would either have to lie or come clean to. He wasn't sure which was the worse option.

Swearing, Taichi swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and put his head in his hands. After a moment he stood, and walked briskly to the door, opening it.

"Dad, we have a problem," he said. "It's serious, like the digital world was. I was… And Hikari…" he trailed off, hanging his head. "Koushiro and Miyako are both here, because we're trying to work out what's going on."

Koushiro's laptop beeped. It was Hikari. She and Tailmon had found a path leading into the forest. In the silence that followed Taichi's statement, he did his best to type out a reply inconspicuously, one painful keystroke at a time. Mr Yagami hadn't moved. Was he wondering what they were all doing in Taichi's room, or had he realised that his daughter wasn't there? Would he realise what that meant, or think she was in her own room?

Apparently noticing how strained the room had become, Taichi walked out into the living room, drawing the door closed behind him. Nearby, Miyako sighed with relief.

"I wouldn't trade places with Taichi right now for anything," she murmured. "I can't imagine what he must be feeling. Straight out of one nightmare into another."

Koushiro nodded. With no siblings of his own, he knew that he could never fully understand the position his friend was in. That didn't mean he was unable to empathise at all. His parents had lost a child before adopting him. Every time he'd had to tell them he was about to do something dangerous, he'd been able to sense their fear that they would lose him too. That they tried so hard not to let it show only made it worse, sometimes.

Taichi returned a few minutes later, looking exhausted. "They want to know where Hikari is. I want to know too. She hasn't come back?"

Koushiro shook his head. "She's been sending me messages via her D-Terminal. In previous visits, she went into a cave, disturbing some large, hostile creature. This time, she's exploring the forest. She's perfectly safe, but the cost of that safety is that she's not sure how to get back home at the moment. She and Tailmon are looking for food and water as we speak."

Letting out a string of curses, Taichi flopped onto his bed. "Are you any closer to finding out what's going on? And what about the others? Did they stay awake?"

Koushiro shook his head. "Gennai sent me some old texts which I'm deciphering, but we're both unsure whether they will be of any help. Mostly, the texts they have relate only to the digital world, and everything there seems to be normal at the moment. As for the others, both Takeru and Yamato were unable to stay awake. From talking to Sora and Daisuke, I would guess that whatever it is that's pulling you into this world is also causing you to be unable to stay awake at midnight. That's the exact time you started to vanish, more or less."

"But they can message you as well, right? I mean, so, you could co-ordinate some kind of way for them to find each other?"

"We haven't heard anything from Takeru yet," Miyako said. "Yamato isn't anywhere near a forest, either. We're hoping they'll find a way home soon, because it could take days to work out where they are in relation to each other, let alone get to a meeting point."

Koushiro nodded. "Listen, Taichi, I know you don't want to hear this. But right now, the best thing you can do is try and get some sleep."

"You think I can sleep right now? When Hikari and the others are stuck in that place? I have to find a way back there. I can't just abandon them!"

"Well, stay awake then," Koushiro snapped, losing his patience. "But the next chance you'll have to go back isn't until midday. So if you want to be so exhausted when that happens that you can't help them, be my guest. Alternatively, you could get some sleep now, and have enough energy when you get back there that you can actually do something. I don't know what this world is yet, or how to get the others back. But I do know that it's pulling the four of you in at midnight each night, and that Yamato vanished almost on the stroke of midday, after falling asleep with surprising ease not too long beforehand. If you want to go, you're going to have to wait for that."

"Koushiro's right," Miyako said. "Since you left, he's done nothing but work on a solution. And he's still working, even though he's been awake since nearly this time yesterday."

When Taichi didn't reply, Koushiro looked carefully at him. Over the years, he had learnt to see past the recklessness and bravado. Taichi was as easy to read as a book, really. His emotions were written all over his face - albeit often in reverse. Although he had handed over leadership to Daisuke the previous year, he had remained the glue that held the older Chosen Children together. It had already started to rub off on the younger generation. And now, here he was, the only one to have made it home safely. Again. It didn't take a genius to see what he must be feeling.

"We're going to need you, Taichi. You're the only one who can go and help - and now that I'm getting a better picture of what this world is like, we'll be able to send you back with the things the others will need most," he said, letting his words sink in to the older boy. He knew the moment they had.

"You're right," Taichi said. "Okay. I'll try and sleep. It's just hard, knowing that they're still…" He trailed off as Agumon sat down next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Koushiro nodded. "But they're safe. They all have their partners with them - they're not alone. And everything they have told me so far indicates that the dangers this world posed for them came from their not realising it was real - in a dream we take risks that we would never consider in reality."

"What about Takeru?" Taichi asked, struggling to suppress a yawn.

Koushiro looked instinctively at the time. It was almost half one. "We haven't heard from him yet. I do know that of the three of them, the danger he faced was the only one which required him to take immediate action. I can only assume that he has been too busy to send word as yet. But the fact that he hasn't returned suggests that he is safe enough - if he were in danger enough to harm him, I believe it would fill the same criteria which sent him home last night."

Taichi nodded sleepily. Koushiro gestured for Miyako to leave the room. She got to her feet and crept to the door, holding it open for Koushiro. He shook his head. Much as he was moderately certain that the crossover points were at midday and midnight, he didn't want to take any chances.

The time crawled past. Hikari found food in the forest. Yamato reached the outskirts of the city he had been able to see, and began to explore some of the buildings there with Gabumon. Slowly - achingly slowly, the texts that Gennai had sent began to shed their secrets.

So far, it was information that Koushiro either knew or had guessed already. The existence of worlds besides the ones they had visited already, and how they occupied a space identical to but other than Earth. Brought into life by the actions of humanity, but no less real.

He was just working through a tricky section which talked about them being separate but all connected when his laptop pinged a message. Checking it, he sat up straighter, his tiredness ebbing away.

_:Koushiro, hope you get this. Made it out of the rain but no idea where to go now.:_

The time stamp on the message read a little after one in the morning. Reflexively, he looked at his clock - it was now closer to three. Had that rain prevented the message from sending? He replied quickly, anxious to know that they were still safe.

_:Patamon and I found shelter. Both safe, but not sure how to get home. How are the others?:_

He exhaled, relief saturating him. Before Yamato could get too embroiled in the exploration, he tapped out a message to let him know his brother was safe, then returned his attentions to Takeru. Now that they finally had contact, he needed to run through the same checks as he had with the others. The interference which had disrupted the D-Terminals concerned him, too.

_:No problems. Pegasusumon and I are going to take a look around. The rain stopped a little while ago.:_

Koushiro was about to tell the pair to be careful when his messenger beeped again.

_:Think there's trouble. Something else alive in city. Keeping low. Hope they won't see me. Don't msg until I say. Need quiet.:_

Yamato. Clearly this world was out to get him. No sooner was there relief on one front than something kicked off elsewhere. The news that there was something - perhaps a someone in the city was intriguing. The promise of more danger was rather less appealing. On and on the silence stretched. Taichi had barely stayed awake past Miyako closing the door. Koushiro didn't even notice when he began to snore - his attention was wholly on his laptop. At last: a message. His hopes flared once, and then died completely.

_:Have found a building. It's empty, looks like a train station. Tired. Tried to call Yamato, but no reply. Want to know how he is, but can't stay awake much longer. Going to sleep. It seems safe here:_

He read and re-read it, feeling his breath catch in his throat. He should have been thinking faster. Should have warned the others. No. How could he have known? He was running tired, and his ability to think and plan was compromised. If anything happened to Yamato, he would most likely be thrust back into the real world. All he could do was sit back and keep waiting, and things would work out soon.

Of course, it was a lot harder to convince  _himself_  of that than it was Taichi.


	12. Chapter 12

_Sunday, 3:00am_

It was good that she had her D3 and Terminal with her. Quite aside from giving Tailmon the ability to digivolve if they got into any trouble, it meant that she was able to keep track of time. There certainly wasn't any other way to. The canopy overhead obscured the sun, and the path they followed had so few distinguishing features that it was easy to just fall into a rut of walking.

Unbidden, her mind went back to when she had been just eight years old, and trekking through the Digital world for the first time. What she wouldn't give to be with the others right now. Koushiro had told her that Taichi made it safely home, but Yamato and Takeru were still in this ridiculous, eye-watering world. She hoped they were okay. From what Koushiro had told her, Yamato was heading to explore an apparently abandoned city. No one had heard from Takeru.

No. She wasn't going to allow herself to follow that train of thought again. He was safe. He had to be, or he would have been thrown out of this stupid world, and Koushiro would have told her.

"You're worrying about Takeru again," Tailmon said. Hikari almost tripped over from whirling around to look at her partner.

"What?" She could feel the heat in her cheeks. How did she keep doing that?

Tailmon shrugged. "I'm worried about him and Patamon too you know, but right now you need to keep your thoughts here. Or we might miss something in this forest which could lead us home."

"And what makes you think I was worrying about Takeru?" She leant against a tree and folded her arms, trying to look as casual as possible.

Tailmon blinked slowly and innocently. "You really think I haven't noticed? Besides. He's the only one who we haven't heard from, and he was injured before he got here. You scarcely took your eyes off him all afternoon, by the way. If you're really going to insist on still not saying anything, then you might want to be a little more subtle about it."

"I… I…" She stood up sharply, and turned to keep walking. "I don't know what you're talking about," she managed at last. Turning her head, she saw Tailmon start to follow her, smiling. "What's so funny? You do realise we're still stuck in a strange world with no idea where we are and no way home, don't you?"

"Of course," Tailmon replied, serious now. "But we've come through greater dangers than this. And it always amuses me when you remind me of your brother."

Hikari stopped in her tracks. "Wait, I remind you of Taichi?"

"Only when you're being as stubborn as he gets sometimes."

They lapsed into silence. After a minute or so, Hikari started walking again. It wasn't the first time they had ended up having this conversation. She knew from experience that Tailmon would drop it if she just ignored her. Things were simpler for Digimon; they didn't have to worry about ruining friendships with unwanted honesty. Hikari often envied her partner.

The wind picked up a little, making the branches above their heads creak. "Do you think it might rain?" Tailmon asked.

"I don't know," Hikari replied. "I really hope not. It-" She was interrupted by a bleep from her D-Terminal. Grabbing it from her pocket, she flipped it open.

_:Hikari, you need to be on your guard. Something might have happened to Yamato. Until I say, don't message anyone but me. It could be dangerous.:_

"Oh no," she whispered, letting the hand holding the D-Terminal fall to her side. Tailmon reached out and took it, then blanched as she read the message too.

"You need to ask Koushiro for more information, Hikari. If there are more dangers here, we should know what they are."

Hikari nodded. Taking the D-Terminal she tapped out her question, then looked along the path they were following.

"We should keep going," she said. "We need to look for answers, still. If Yamato is in trouble, Koushiro is going to want as much information about this place as he can get. This path has to be here for a reason. It's too well looked-after."

Tailmon nodded. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until a bleeping announced Koushiro's reply.

_:Yamato sent me a message to say he was hiding from someone or something, and that I should not message him. I didn't warn the pair of you to stay quiet, so Takeru had no way of knowing that, and tried to contact him. I don't know if Yamato was found, and I can't risk contacting him to find out. But we know now that this world you are in is inhabited by someone or something. Keep alert.:_

"That's not good," Hikari said, looking around her. "Perhaps it's time we got off this path."

Tailmon shook her head. "We're just as likely to get in trouble in the middle of the woods as here, Hikari. And… we can't be certain that Yamato's in trouble. He might just be too busy to reply."

Hikari nodded, although she wasn't convinced. "I doubt Takeru will see it that way," she said after a moment. "He must be worried sick."

"The best that we can do for both Takeru and Yamato is to find out as much about this place as we can, Hikari. Koushiro is right - there has to be a reason the four of you were chosen."

On and on they walked, sometimes talking, sometimes falling silent. After a time the ground began to slope upwards slightly, until they reached the crest of a hill. From somewhere further ahead was the sound of water. Pushing past her growing weariness, Hikari kept up with Tailmon as she ran forward. Both of them sighed with relief when they found a clear pool, fed by a spring. Water flowed away downstream over a series of small waterfalls.

They stopped only to nod once at each other, both racing forwards to drink. It had been a long walk. The water was cool and fresh. Hikari splashed her face after she had drunk her fill, hoping to wake herself up a little. The long walk, on the back of a stressful and emotional day, was starting to catch up with her.

"I think we need to find somewhere we can rest safely," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Maybe if we follow the stream a bit, the ground will level out again?"

Tailmon shrugged. "It's that or go back the way we came. And nowhere behind us looked all that good a place to sleep."

Hikari nodded, getting to her feet. "I can keep going a little longer."

They didn't have to go far. The ground sloped steeply in front of them, and after just a few minutes they found an opening in the hillside. It was an overhang more than an actual cave; one side of it was coated in a thick vine which bloomed with tiny, bright pink flowers.

Hikari rested a hand against the plant. It was surprisingly soft, and seemed to be growing downwards. The bottom of the plan snaked partway across the floor of the hollow like a carpet.

"Well, this seems as good a place as any to sleep," she said. "I know we should gather wood for a fire, but.."

"Don't worry about it Hikari. I'm not as tired - I can have a look around while keeping you in sight. You should rest now."

Hikari was too tired to argue, or to protest as Tailmon handed her the last of the fruits they had picked on their trek through the forest. After eating, she laid down on the carpet of greenery. Despite her talk of finding firewood, Tailmon sat down beside her.

Her eyelids grew heavy. She blinked slowly, and was on the verge of sleep when she remembered that she ought to send a message to Koushiro. Groaning, she sat back up and reached for her D-Terminal.

_:Need to sleep. Found a safe spot in the forest. Tell Taichi I'm sorry I couldn't get back. Don't worry, I'm fine. Found water as well as food.:_

Hitting send, she slumped back down again. "Wake me if you get tired, Tailmon?" she asked.

"Sure," Tailmon replied, in her most insincere voice. Hikari smiled tiredly at her. She ought to have known that it was a pointless thing to ask of her partner.

The last thing she remembered was Tailmon's expression turning from amusement to surprise - and fear. There was a sound like grating stone behind her, and a rustle of leaves. Something brushed past her shoulder to press against her nose and mouth, and everything went black.

* * *

 

It was night when Takeru awoke. What he presumed to be starlight filtered through the dusty windows. It was enough to give him a greyscale view of the room. For a moment he wondered where he was - nothing looked even remotely familiar. Then Patamon flew in front of his face, and he flinched, yelping as the motion disturbed the burns on his arm.

"Takeru! You need to wake up! Your D-Terminal keeps beeping. I think it's important!"

Gingerly, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and braced himself before sitting up. How long had he been asleep? He felt far more rested than he had in days, that was for certain. The sole advantage to being stuck in this strange world seemed to be the absence of any nightmares, although he half remembered some pretty strange dreams. Memories which started to fade as he reached for his D-Terminal. Even the last shreds were gone as soon as he read the first message:

_:I don't have a good way of telling you this, but I think something bad has happened to Yamato. The last word I had from him was that he was hiding from something, and he has not checked in since. I'm certain he would be pulled back if it were serious, but I cannot rule out his being in danger.:_

The timestamp read not long after he had gone to sleep. His stomach clenched with fear and guilt. There was no need for Koushiro to spell it out - it had probably been Takeru's message which had caused Yamato to be in danger. The next message was stamped around an hour later.

_:Takeru, I don't know when you will get this, but Hikari has messaged me to say that she is safe and going to sleep. I have not yet had any word from Yamato.:_

He closed his eyes. Something had happened to Yamato. Opening them again, he felt as though the bottom were falling out of the world.

_:When you get this I need you to contact me. Tailmon just returned without Hikari. She says something came out of a rock face and grabbed her. Before she could help, she was pulled back here. You're the only one left in that world until at least midday:_

It was timestamped not two minutes after the previous message. Nothing else had been sent by Koushiro, although there were still two messages unread. The clock on his D-Terminal proclaimed it to be a few minutes after midday. He brought the messages up - to his surprise they had been sent by Miyako.

_:Takeru, please reply ASAP. We need you to take Pegasusmon up and see if you can describe the lay of the land. Taichi plans to return at midday and look for Hikari and Yamato.:_

_:WAKE UP TAKERU. This is URGENT. Taichi just got sucked back, with Agumon. Tailmon went too. They need to know where you are. I need as much information as you have. Before he went to sleep, Koushiro said you were scouting with Pegasusmon.:_

He was about to reply when another message flashed up from Miyako.

_:Sending this to everyone but Hikari and Yamato. Need help at Yagami residence. Koushiro won't wake up and he has shadows all over him. FREAKING OUT NOW HELP:_

He stared at the screen. How had he thought that just the first message was awful? They all read like a series of the worst news he could imagine. He scarcely heard Patamon's insistence that he be told what was going on. Instead of replying, he showed his partner the D-Terminal.

"This is bad, Takeru," Patamon said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Really, Pata? I hadn't noticed!"

Ignoring the aches and pains, he got to his feet and looked around for the door. It was disorienting, to wake in this unfamiliar room in the dark. As creepy as it had looked during the day, now it was far worse. The silence was smothering him, and the faint light from the windows cast long, menacing shadows.

The door was on the far side of the room. Clutching his head - it had started throbbing as soon as he'd stood up - he fumbled his way past the chairs and debris towards it. Patamon flapped nearby.

"Where are you going, Takeru? It's really dark outside."

"It's darker in here," he replied, then cursed as he banged his shin on something. "Can you digivolve? Miyako says that Agumon is here with Taichi this time. Tailmon too. Maybe we can make some sort of signal. A beacon. If we could find each other, this would be a lot easier."

He reached the door at last, and wrenched it open. Clear, fresh air met his face, cutting through the ache in his head at least a little. The sky was clear still, unmarred by clouds, and the same foggy white veil lay over the stars as he had seen from the window with Yamato. It was light, really. At least as bright as a full moon on Earth, although he couldn't see any kind of moon in the sky.

The station area was still. No breeze stirred the leaves and debris on the ground, and the trees which surrounded the clearing were motionless, too. He itched for daylight, to explore the other buildings. Surely there had to be something around here to tell him where he was?

Patamon landed a few feet away from him, and started nosing at a pile of what looked like discarded bicycles. They appeared to be rusted together.

Focus. He had to focus; push past the throbbing distraction in his head and think. Taichi was somewhere out here, with Agumon who could digivolve -and Tailmon, who was strong even without digivolving. If they could find each other, they ought to be able to find Hikari and Yamato. First things first then. He had to make sure Taichi was looking for his signal. Grabbing his D-Terminal, he tapped out a message. After hitting send, he returned to Miyako's messages.

_:Am awake. Is night here, so am going to try and signal to Taichi. Messaged him already. Pegasusmon and I looked around earlier. We could see mountains past this forest, and there is a chance we saw where Yamato is too. We can look for them together.:_

It sounded confident, at least. Maybe it would be easier to feel that way after he got in touch with Taichi. While he was waiting for the older boy to reply, he started to poke around the other buildings with Patamon. There wasn't a lot to see. One of them was some sort of engine shed. Using his D-Terminal as a makeshift torch, he could see the outlines of what he assumed were train parts, all looking at least somewhat rusty. Creeping vines snaked their way over parts of them, and across the windows. It was far more unnerving a place to be in the dark than it had been during daylight.

They had explored the engine shed and what seemed to be an old coal store, and were heading over to a third building when Takeru's D-Terminal beeped.

_:Just got shot of the creatures. MetalGreymon and I are in the air now with Tailmon. Looks like we're on some sort of island. If you're going to signal me, now would be a good time.:_

Takeru looked over at Patamon, and nodded at the question in his partner's expression.

"It's him. You up for this?"

Patamon huffed. "Of course! We're a team, aren't we? Let's go find Taichi!"

Once more Takeru had to close his eyes and turn away as his partner digivolved. In this too-bright world, the glare hurt to look at. He didn't waste time when the light faded - the sooner he and Taichi found each other, the sooner they could rescue Hikari and Yamato. And he had seen an island that morning, or night, or whenever it was. The reversal of day and night in this place made his head ache even more.

There was no point in worrying about it as Pegasusmon took to the air. They struggled for a moment to get their bearings - at night the forest seemed to stretch on forever in every direction.

"We need to go higher," Takeru called. "And to make some sort of light. I hope Taichi and MetalGreymon have thought of that too."

As if in answer to his question, a gout of flame lit up the night some several miles away to their left. In response, Pegasusmon sent out a beam of energy from his forehead. Takeru winced. With his eyes used to the lower light levels, the attack had left spots on his vision. They hovered for a minute or so more before Pegasusmon tried again, circling high in the air.

_:I see you. You're a ways off, but we have a direction now. Good work, you two:_

Takeru couldn't help but smile. That was Taichi all over. Even in the midst of this chaos he took a moment to encourage them. He'd grown up a lot since their first encounters with the Digimon.

"We should stay up here a little longer," Pegasusmon said, circling the air above the station. "They seemed a long way off. They might need me to signal again."

Takeru nodded, and then realised that in the dark it was pointless. "Sounds good. Although we might need to go down at some point. It's pretty cold up here. Hey, look over there! To the right of where Taichi and MetalGreymon are. Can you see that?"

He pointed to a bright glow on the horizon. It was almost a line, although not a clear one.

"I see it, Takeru."

"Can you go higher? We might be able to see what it is. It… It could be that city where Yamato is." Takeru clenched his hands into fists. He had been to that part of the world, albeit briefly. For so long his brother had been there to protect him. Now the roles had been reversed, and he wasn't there to help.

"Hold on tightly Takeru. It's a long drop if you fall off."

Pegasusmon soared higher still. It was impossible to make out any more than a blurry glow on the horizon. As they flew back down, Takeru sighed. Still. It was something. He had to believe that he would find his brother. And at least they had a possible direction to search for Yamato in. Hikari promised to be a lot harder to find.

A few minutes later, they sent out another beam for Taichi and MetalGreymon to follow. Takeru shivered, but said nothing. He could get warm later. The cold wasn't so bad yet that he needed to go back down. As he leant forward, something clipped his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and cluched Pegasusmon as his partner whirled in the air.

A dark shape loomed in the sky - a bird of some sort, with vast shadowy wings, and a figure perched on its back. Pegasusmon immediately returned fire, sending stars shooting from his wings to plough into their foe. The thing screeched, and wheeled around, the shape on its back shrinking as it clung on tightly.

Something whistled through the air nearby.

"Pegasusmon, you can't see its attacks!" Takeru yelled. "You have to take it out and fast!"

There was a surge of pressure as Pegasusmon bunched his wings and flew higher, then launched another cluster of stars. Moving in closer, he fired his silver blaze. The beam stuck the creature on its back, and knocked the mysterious figure from its perch. It screamed as it fell; an awful, inhuman voice. With no pilot, the bird circled once more, then, as Pegasusmon fired another shot, soared away into the night.

"Takeru, I… I'm too tired," he said, starting to glow.

"What! Pegasusmon, no! We're too high up! You need to fly down!" Takeru clutched at his partner, his voice raised in fear. They had to be at least three hundred feet in the air still. Probably more.

It was too late. With a blinding glow, he felt the form of Pegasusmon beneath him vanish. As he started to fall he snatched at Patamon and grabbed him, pulling his partner against his chest. For scant seconds he saw the clearing beneath them and realised they were above the engine shed, before he started to turn in the air. The speed made everything blur. He didn't see the ground rushing up to meet them, or watch his life flash before his eyes. He was going to die, here with Patamon in this messed up, back to front world.

He screamed as the wind whipped at his body, buffeting the pair of them. It tugged at Patamon, and he clung harder, determined not to let go. Something loomed in front of them - the ground. Darkness swamped him entirely.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

He was still screaming as he woke up. By the time he took in his surroundings, his mother was there by his side. Her hands clasped his shoulders, and she sat on the bed before him, fixing his gaze with hers.

"You're home Takeru," she said, her voice shaking. "You're safe now. It's over."

For a few moments neither of them spoke. Patamon lay on his lap, breathing slowly. His eyes stubbornly refused to focus on anything. Nausea washed over him, rising as fast as the ground, and he lurched, wrenching himself away from his mother. Somehow he forced his treacherous legs to get him as far as the bathroom before the retching started. It had been so long since he'd eaten that he didn't think he could bring anything up. He was wrong.

It was only as he staggered to the living room, some minutes later, that he realised Daisuke was still in his apartment. The other boy helped support him while he walked. It was strange seeing him so quiet and solemn. Takeru sat down on the sofa, and took Patamon from his mother's arms. His partner was sleeping - he wondered if the digimon had even stayed awake for their fall.

Everything was disjointed. It was as though the real world had stopped making sense. It hadn't been this strange coming home after months in the Digital world; why was it so jarring now?

"Did… did you want to talk about it?" his mother asked, putting a glass of water in front of him. He shook his head. If he started talking, he had a feeling he would end up in tears. That or hysterical laughter. It was strange. At that moment, the worst part wasn't even what had just happened. It was the knowledge of what awaited him when he fell asleep. Would he go back to the meadow, by the beach? Or would he return to the thin air somewhere above that engine shed, ready to finish off his rapid descent? No, he couldn't talk about what had happened. Not until it was actually over.

He was saved from answering by the beeping of his D-Terminal.

_:Takeru, where are you? Over the mainland now but can't see you:_

Part of him wanted to throw the Terminal across the room. He settled for thumping the sofa instead, as Daisuke peered over his shoulder and read the message too.

"Hey, don't worry about it," his friend said, squeezing his uninjured shoulder reassuringly and standing up. "I'll get Taichi up to speed. You just sort yourself out man. You look like you saw a ghost or something."

Takeru just sat and hugged Patamon, not meeting his mother's eyes. Whether by coincidence or an unusual bout of perceptiveness, Daisuke wandered out of sight to send his messages; leaving them in peace.

"I can't tell you, mum," Takeru said at last. His throat felt hoarse. "Not yet. I… I'll find a way, someday. But right now I can't. Not that part of it."

"I called Jou," Daisuke said, walking back over. "You look even more beat up than you did before, and he's on alert anyway. Miyako says Koushiro's the same. She's finally got Mr and Mrs Yagami convinced that it's not his fault at least."

Takeru looked up sharply. "Wait, what?" Daisuke's news was enough to bring him out of the shocked bubble he had been sinking into. "They're blaming him? Why? What's been happening here?"

The movement was enough to disturb Patamon, who groaned a little, then opened his eyes and shrieked "Takeru!" before looking around in surprise. Spotting Takeru, he looked up and said: "We didn't fall?"

Takeru swallowed heavily. "We did. But we didn't land." He kept his eyes on his partner, noting the guilt in his expression. "It wasn't your fault Patamon. Neither of us expected that… thing to come out of nowhere."

"You  _fell_? Fell how? Like off a cliff?" Daisuke actually flinched as he looked up at him. "I mean, Koushiro, yeah. Miyako sent the messages out, about how he's all shadowy and stuff, but he's not disappearing like you lot. He's just asleep. And Mr and Mrs Yagami are still pretty freaked about the whole thing, so when Taichi vanished again, and Koushiro started looking like he was gonna vanish too, they got kinda worse. Because Koushiro had been telling them how he was working on an answer, and now if he goes too, I guess they figure there's no one left to bring Hikari back. But I reckon Ken's plenty smart enough to work out Koushiro's notes, and Miyako can do computer stuff too, so between them they oughta be able to work with Gennai too, right? And I'm pretty sure Koushiro's coming back. I mean, you guys all came back plenty of times. Besides. Taichi is still over there looking for her, so it's not she's in any real danger. Or Yamato."

If there was one good thing about Daisuke, it was his ability to press on relentlessly. Not in  _spite_  of a situation seeming almost hopelessly insurmountable - he just never seemed to notice when it  _was_ , and assumed that everyone would work things out. It was a different kind of courage to Taichi's; more unconscious. More infectious, too.

* * *

By the time Jou arrived, a little before 1pm, he had managed to relax a little. He even ate, although that was mostly to appease the expression of concern his mother bore.

Jou shook his head as he looked him over, and re-dressed the wounds on his arms.

"You're lucky," he said. "They look sore, and some of them have burst, but so far there's no sign of infection. You probably won't walk away from this without one or two scars though.

Takeru sighed. "At least I could pass them off as a bad case of chicken pox?"

Jou smiled grimly. "Maybe the burns. But this wound on your shoulder - what happened?"

Takeru winced as Jou cleaned the cut out. He looked at Patamon, who hovered nearby looking worried.

"It was dark, Pata," he said. "You couldn't have known." Turning to Jou he added quietly: "We got shot at. The first shot clipped me there, just out of the blue. It was some kind of giant black bird, with someone - some _thing_  on its back. I don't want my mum to know. There's no sense worrying her."

Jou nodded, checking to make sure that Mrs Takaishi was still out of earshot.

"I understand," he said, and sighed. "It's the sort of information which no doubt Koushiro would find very useful," he said softly. "We'll have to hope he and Sora wake up soon."

Takeru flinched. "Wait.  _Sora_? Do you mean regular asleep or…"

"Your father called the Yagami residence not too far after midday," Jou said. "Miyako took the call. Sora apparently fell asleep a few hours ago, and then at midday, well. She and Yamato had told him that Koushiro was working on answers, and he had no one else to call."

Jou swallowed heavily. "I didn't really need Miyako to spell it out for me. She said she was calling Mimi next."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Takeru muttered, trying to keep his face neutral as his mother peered into the living area. She watched as Jou finished cleaning the cut on his shoulder and secured a dressing, then smiled weakly and walked away.

"Well, my first priority when I arrived was to make sure you weren't seriously injured. Daisuke was pretty insistent that I get here quickly. He said you were in a bad way." Finished at last, Jou stood up and sighed. "That's all I can do for now. I've done a more thorough job than I might normally, but given the situation I feel it's better that way."

"Are you okay?" Takeru asked. Jou had grown up a lot since their first trip to the Digital World, but he was still the most generally nervous of all the Chosen Children. The main difference was how much better he'd gotten at hiding it.

Jou grinned. "I thought I was supposed to be asking  _you_  that," he said. When Takeru didn't change his expression, he sighed. "I will admit, seeing how you and Yamato came out of this is pretty unnerving. And with Yamato and Hikari now missing… I can't say I'm looking forward to going to sleep."

Takeru nodded. "Well, you do at least have an advantage over us," he said, and gestured to his injuries. "Some of this happened because I had no idea of the dangers. I mean, if I'd known there were hostile creatures around I wouldn't have stayed up in the air with Pegasusmon making targets of ourselves. At least you can be prepared."

"I certainly hope so," Jou replied. "Still. You'd best be prepared as well. I may not be able to patch you up straight away next time. It would probably be a good idea to pack-"

They were interrupted by a bleep from Jou's phone. Before he could answer it, Takeru's D-Terminal started beeping as well. Exchanging a quick glance, they reached into their pockets and grabbed their respective devices. Just as Takeru flipped his Terminal open, Daisuke burst in, almost falling over in his haste.

"Guys, I think we'd better go. Like now. Miyako says Mrs Yagami is freaking out again and she needs help real quick. Also she wants someone to go get all the other Digimon pretty much yesterday."

 

* * *

 

_Sunday, 12:32pm_

It was dark. Night, which made no sense as it hadn't even been mid-morning when he had finally conceded to his exhaustion and slept.

And how had he gotten outside? Something strange was going on, because he was standing in the middle of a dark, rocky place which felt - wait, was he  _dreaming_? It was certainly possible. After all, he had been thoroughly engrossed with the deadly new world affecting four of his friends. For a solid thirty-six hours minimum, too, on nothing more than catnaps. It would make sense for it to affect his subconscious and manifest in this way once he finally did sleep.

He had heard of lucid dreaming, of course, although he remained on the sceptical side of the debate. Still, here he was, aware of the fact that he must be dreaming, which was a core principle of the phenomenon. Either he had been wrong, or…

Uneasiness settled over him like a thick blanket; heavy and stifling. Was it possible that he was being drawn into the alternate world as well?

The sky above him was awash with stars. Unlike in the real world, or even the Digital one, they were not points of light. Instead, each star seemed to bleed into the darkness surrounding it. It was like looking through a thin fog, which caught and refracted the light before allowing it through. The entire sky was a pale glow, studded with brighter points which were the stars. They were bright, too. Bright enough to illuminate the world around him, despite the lack of any moon.

The ground was a tumble of rocks and boulders. It looked like a photograph of the moon or Mars; desolate and barren, with no sign of life anywhere. Deep pools of shadow lurked beneath the largest boulders, and there didn't seem to be any totally level ground anywhere. If he decided to explore, he was likely to turn an ankle unless he was careful. As light as it was, it would still be tricky to find his footing on this uneven and unstable ground.

He forced himself to try and think, although it was hard to focus. It was easier - all  _too_  easy - to simply stare around him, drinking his surroundings in and thinking no further. That, however, was folly. He already knew that there were only two possible explanations for his situation. If he were dreaming, which seemed the more comforting but less likely option, then he was experiencing a phenomenon he had hitherto dismissed and should attempt to find its limits. If he were not dreaming - if the alternate world was affecting him as it had four of the other Chosen Children - then he was potentially in serious trouble, and would need to keep his wits about him.

The longer he stood there, the more he became convinced of the latter. There was too much detail to this world for it to be a product of his subconscious. Not to mention, although the sky matched perfectly what Yamato and Takeru had described, none of the four had spoken of a rocky wasteland with few distinguishing features. If this were a product of his own mind, it would more closely resemble the information he already had.

Of course, now that he realised where he was, he had something of a dilemma. The only way to return was to experience intense terror. That wasn't a particularly comforting thought, and naturally, there was also the problem of creating such an emotion. Thus far, there seemed to be no obvious dangers, and he would be foolish to attempt to generate them intentionally. There was too much risk of failure.

What now? The prospect of remaining where he was and waiting for something to find him was not a comfortable one, but neither was the alternative. Round and round the dilemma cycled in his mind. He was getting nowhere.

A clattering of stone on stone made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He whirled to face the direction the sound had come from. Was something moving over there? It was hard to see - whatever it was could be hiding behind one of the larger boulders. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, he walked over to the nearest sizable rock. He would feel safer with something behind him.

Koushiro had never been athletic. Had never been physically strong. Even Takeru, two years younger, had been taller than him for some time now. He'd always relied on his wits to see him through dangerous situations - that and his partner, whose ability to turn into a giant flying beetle that could shoot bolts of electricity tended to make up for his own physical inadequacies. Now, it seemed that everything he relied on had been stripped away. No Tentomon. No friends. No trusty laptop to call Gennai, and not even the faintest idea of where he was.

Another clattering - this time louder - came from a different direction. Koushiro could feel the thump-thump of his heart, getting steadily faster as his anxiety grew. Okay. So he wasn't alone in the dark. The bad news was that he had no reason to suppose that whatever was out there would be friendly. The worse news was that either there was more than one, or the creature could move about very quickly.

For once, he wished he were the sort of person to fly instantly into a panic. That would have gotten him out of the situation he found himself in. Unfortunately, he was Koushiro Izumi, rational thinker, and his brain was the ultimate traitor - attempting to remain calm in a situation which could well rely on panic and fear. The more he tried to accept that he was afraid, the more that logical voice in his head reasoned that being tooconscious of his fear would undermine it, leaving him stuck.

Stones clattered a third time, on the other side of the rock he crouched beside. That was good, surely. He couldn't be seen if there was a rock between him and the creature. His confidence evaporated with the gout of flame which roared overhead, almost blinding him with its intensity. Blinking spots from his vision, he turned and placed his back to the stone. He had to be absolutely silent.

This time, he could hear the creature itself as it moved. The click of claws on rock, and the whumph of the air as wings bunched and pushed something very large into the sky. It wheeled overhead, a huge black silhouette against the sky. Koushiro's jaw dropped.

Amid the rising terror, he couldn't help but feel a prickle of anger at the unfairness of it all. Takeru might have had burning rain, but he'd been able to find shelter. Yamato and Hikari had been put into danger by exploring. Even Taichi had mentioned walking for some time before facing the creatures in that wood. Meanwhile he, Koushiro, had been dropped in the middle of a barren wasteland with nowhere to hide. And right there, landing in front of him with eyes that glinted in the starlight, was a dragon. A  _dragon_ , of all things.

The mouth opened, revealing teeth as long as his arm. Light bloomed in the back of the creature's throat. As the flame blossomed, and Koushiro flung himself helplessly to the ground, even his terror couldn't quite stop him railing against the injustice. He didn't remember hitting the ground. Blackness took him before he could even scream.


	14. Chapter 14

Naturally, his mother had refused to let Takeru out of her sight. The fact that midnight was some ten and a half hours away mattered not. Despite his protests, she had insisted on accompanying them all.

It hadn't helped that Jou had backed her up - albeit for different reasons. Gathering those parents who knew what was going on into one group made sense, logistically. And it wasn't as though they had always concealed everything from their families. They'd had help before, in the form of transport, advice, and even information. But it hadn't seemed so personal then. The first time they had fought for the Digital world he'd only been eight years old. And the second time, his mother's chief involvement had been a list of names.

Not to mention, he'd always played down the severity of what was going on to his mother. At first, that had been due to not really appreciating it himself. And later, it had been because he'd grown aware of the fact that she tended to be more protective of him than of his brother - a fact compounded by Yamato having done most of his growing up with their father. Despite now being older than Yamato had been when they had first fallen into the Digital world, he still couldn't shake being the "younger" one in her eyes.

And now Yamato was missing, and he was the one who'd come back. Battered and bruised, yes, but he'd made it home, to be fussed and worried over by his mother, while his older brother was the one in trouble. And even though he felt a gnawing fear in his gut when he thought about what almost certainly awaited him on his return, a far larger part of him wanted - no,  _needed_  to go back. He could handle being stranded in a hostile, unfamiliar world. He'd done it before, after all. What he was struggling with was his mother seeing the fallout as it happened, instead of after it was over. And the hardest part was watching her try to shield him from it all, when he knew from experience that there was no avoiding danger when it reached out and chose you.

The journey to the Yagami residence was tense, and terminally short on conversation. Takeru guessed that they were all relieved to arrive.

Miyako answered the door, relief transparent on her face.

"How is he?" Jou asked, at the same time as Mrs Takaishi asked what she could do to help. Miyako wrung her hands.

"I- you'd better come in," she said.

It was surprisingly quiet. This turned out to be because Mrs Yagami was typing something on Koushiro's laptop, while he stood nearby; as jittery as if he expected her to drop it. There was a haunted expression in his eyes which Takeru recognised all too well.

"Well that's something I thought I'd never see," Jou remarked.

Mrs Yagami didn't look up. Miyako tugged the back of Takeru's shirt, towing him to the back of the group who had come through the door.

"Hold up," she muttered. "You need to try and downplay how you look and feel - they've just been able to get hold of Taichi. Let her calm down a bit before she sees you. You're the only one to come back so far and you're beaten practically black and blue. She'll think the worst."

Takeru stared at her. It wasn't that Miyako was inconsiderate, or unintelligent. It was simply that her statement was the most tactful thing he had ever heard her say, by a considerable margin. To judge from Daisuke's expression, he thought the same.

She frowned, then sighed. "Okay, okay. That's what Koushiro told me to tell you. But he's right. She's panicking because both her children are gone. I know I'd be just as worried if that ever happened to me."

"But you don't  _have_  children. You're still at school!" Daisuke said. "You don't even have a boyfriend."

Miyako rolled her eyes, and folded her arms. "That doesn't mean I can't imagine what it must be like, you idiot!" she snapped. "Try having some compassion!"

Before they could get into an argument, Takeru put his arms between them. "Nevermind that. Miyako, what has Taichi said? And has there been any news about the others?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "I don't know what Taichi's said yet," she replied. "And we've not heard from any of the others. Sora's still asleep, from what Mr Ishida can tell. He knows not to touch her, Takeru, so you don't need to worry about that."

He nodded, then winced. His head still hurt when he moved it too fast. Patamon flew up from the ground and hovered in front of Miyako.

"You need to let Takeru rest!" he said. "He's been through a lot and he has to go back, so you can't just make him stand here like this."

"I'm fine, Pata-" Takeru started to say, but was cut off by Daisuke elbowing him in the arm. White-hot pain flooded the area and he yelped.

Before he could say anything more, Miyako was nodding at Daisuke, and the pair of them escorted him to Taichi's room, Patamon flying close behind. As the door closed, he turned on the other boy.

"Daisuke! What did you do that for?"

"Well, it got us out of the hallway, didn't it? Face it, it's much easier to relax in here. Besides. Take a look at yourself, will you? Patamon's right. You need to rest up, man."

Takeru groaned. "No, I need to get back there so I can find Yamato and Hikari. Taichi too, for that matter."

"Well, that's not happening until midnight, so you've got plenty of time to rest," Miyako snapped. "And you might want to think about how you're meant to help the others when you look about ready to keel over yourself! We're your  _friends_ , Takeru, so will you just listen to us? Koushiro just came back screaming about a dragon, for crying out loud, and Sora hasn't come back at all. Meanwhile, there's every chance that Jou and Mimi are next and so far you and Taichi are the only ones who've made any progress in finding out anything about this place at all, so we need you to stop and think before you go running off into trouble and get stuck too!"

There was a short silence.

"Wait, a  _dragon_?" That was Daisuke. "What the hell kinda crazy messed up place is this?"

"Patamon and I fought some sort of giant bird with something riding it," Takeru said hollowly. "It shot at us. The shots came out of nowhere. Not like a digimon attack. One did this-" he pointed to his shoulder, "and the other made a whistling sound as it went past. It can't have been a gun - there was no firing sound. And it was the thing riding the bird which shot - once we knocked it off, the bird wasn't able to attack any more."

Miyako swallowed heavily. "Was it… was it a  _person_?" she asked, her voice unsteady.

"I… I don't know," Takeru said. He slumped onto Taichi's bed, putting his head in his hands. "It all happened so fast, and then…" He stopped, unable to put the rest in words. The giant wave and the burning rain had been so much easier to describe - probably because he hadn't realised until afterwards that they were more than nightmares. But every time he relived that fall, it was as though he were back there again. Falling; the wind whipping at his skin. Would he ever be free of that moment?

Patamon landed beside him, and nudged him just beneath his ribs.

"I'm sorry, Takeru," his partner said softly.

Takeru pulled him onto his lap and hugged him. "It wasn't your fault, Patamon," he mumbled. "I should have been thinking more clearly."

The door opened slowly. Koushiro stood there, laptop in hand.

"Taichi found a road through the forest," he said. "He's stopped up in some sort of waystation by the roadside for now, and he's going to wait for light. There's still no word from the others."

* * *

_Sunday, 12:34pm_

Stars glittered overhead. Looking up, she could see the sky awash with a pale white glow, studded with pinpricks which bled their bright light into it. It was beautiful.

A gentle breeze caught her hair and teased at it. Grasses sighed as it passed over. Looking around, she could see them stretch on for mile after mile. Where  _was_  she?

"Sora?" Piyomon stood beside her, looking up with a worried expression on her face. "Is this the place Yamato and Gabumon went to?"

Sora shook her head. "He told me it was hot and dry where he went. Just sand and dust, and abandoned buildings. And there's no city anywhere, is there?"

"I could fly up and look," her partner offered, and took to the air. She hovered far above for a minute or so, then flew back down. "I think I see some mountains far off, but there's nothing for miles, Sora. Just grass, and us."

Sora frowned. There had to be a reason she had been brought here. Something had happened to all the others to bring them back.  _Except Yamato, and Hikari_ , she thought, then quashed that line of reasoning. There was no good dwelling on it now. She had to figure out how to get home again.

Thinking was surprisingly difficult. Despite knowing that it had to be real, and that therefore the dangers were too, she found herself staring blankly around her. Beside her, Piyomon seemed to have the same problem. For a while - a long while, she supposed, although there was no way to tell - they both stood in silence, watching the patterns the wind blew in the grass.

"Sora?"

She looked down at her partner, frowning slightly. "What's wrong, Piyo?" she asked, half-absently.

"How long will we be here before we go back? How do we  _get_  back?"

Sora looked around, not answering. Peaceful and beautiful as this place was, she had to admit that the absence of anything would turn into a serious problem before too long.

"Maybe you should digivolve, Piyomon. We could try and find the edge of all this grass." She reached down for her digivice, and froze. Her hand closed over empty air. Where was it? She was sure it had been clipped onto the top of her skirt.

Panicking, she started to look around her, getting to her hands and knees and rifling through the long grass.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Piyomon asked.

"I can't find my digivice!" Sora replied. "It's not here, and it should be. It was clipped on my skirt, just like it always is!"

Piyomon gasped, and then started to search as well. "But where could it be, Sora? We haven't walked anywhere. We just appeared right in this spot!"

Resting on her knees, Sora looked out over the grass. "I don't know, Piyo. I don't know what happened to it. All I can remember before this is being so tired. I only meant to close my eyes for a little while. I was going to wake up soon. What if Yamato comes back and needs help?"

"Well, Sora, you know Mr Ishida would call the others. I'm sure Yamato is okay. Right now we just have to find a way to get back home."

"There's nothing here, Piyo. Nothing to help us, nothing to scare us out of our wits. It's just… just….  _Grass_."

As if to make her point, a gust of wind toyed with the grasses and tugged at her hair. Piyo's feathers fluttered. The digimon's eyes narrowed.

"Not nothing, Sora. I think I smell something. Follow me!"

She got to her feet, nodding. After all, there was nothing to lose.

With no digivice and no phone, there was no way to keep track of the time as they walked. After a while, she became aware of a growing tiredness in her legs. Still they continued, with Piyomon remarking now and then about the strangeness of the smell. Nothing broke the horizon. All that they could see, in any direction, was grass.

At last, she could go on no more.

"Piyomon, I'm too tired. We have to rest," she called, when her partner carried on walking.

"But Sora, it's right… Sora! SORA!"

In a flash, she was on her feet again, finding unknown reserves to run to her partner. Such was her haste that she almost ran right past, only stopping when Piyomon flew up in front of her and pushed her backwards. They landed heavily, and Sora was about to protest when Piyomon thrust a wing over her mouth.

An acrid smell filled the air. Lightning struck the ground nearby, as clouds burst out of nowhere to mask the stars. The world turned to darkness. Beneath her, the ground began to tremble. She clung to Piyomon as lightning flashed across the sky, leaving rolls and crashes of thunder in its wake.

With a tremendous roar, something burst from the ground not far away, and she screamed. More eruptions sounded nearby, and filled the air with a buzzing sound. Sheet lighting flashed again, searing her eyes. Right in the middle was the silhouette of a great bird. With a shriek like thunder it plummeted towards them. With no digivice; no way for Piyomon to become Birdramon, there was no hope.

Sora shut her eyes, waiting for it to strike. The buzzing grew louder -  _closer_. Lightning seared her eyelids once more, and then cut out with the rest of her senses.

* * *

_Sunday, 2:11pm_

The phone rang. Takeru's head snapped up instantly, heart hammering in his chest. When they heard Jou's voice greeting Mr Ishida, all he could wonder was  _which one of them came back?_  The thought was followed by a surge of guilt. He shouldn't be sat there hoping it wasn't Sora, and yet he was.

There it was; her name. In an instant he flipped from straining to hear Jou's every word, to listening to none of them. Squeezing his eyes tightly, he clung to Patamon.

"I have to get back there," he muttered.

"Taichi said the same thing," Koushiro replied. "And I'll tell you what I told him. There's no sense in wearing yourself out now, when you know full well it'll be midnight before you can return. You need to use this time to prepare." He swallowed. "We all do."

Takeru laughed hollowly. "There's not much I can do to prepare," he said. "I shouldn't even want to go back. Most likely I'll be in no shape to help anyone - and still, all I can think of is how I'm wasting time here."

"What are you talking about?" Miyako asked.

He didn't answer. How could he, when it was as though he were slowly disconnecting from the rest of his body? He didn't move when Patamon answered for him, and told them about their fight in the air, and its end. Didn't react when Miyako gasped.

The next thing he was aware of was someone's hand on his good shoulder, shaking him.

"Takeru. This is important. I need you to answer me. Takeru!"

He looked up, into Koushiro's wide, dark eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the older boy look so serious. Certainly that gaze had been fixed on a computer of some sort at the time, and not a person. It was unnerving.

"Can you hear me Takeru? I know it's a hard question, but I need you to tell me how far from the ground you were. We can work this out. There's an answer somewhere, and we still have time to find it."

He found himself nodding, then closed his eyes, shuddering as that feeling of falling swept over him again. He wanted to push that memory  _away_ , not focus on it. Not hear the roar of wind rushing past him as he hurtled downwards, certain that he was going to die. He didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to face the fact that he would have to do it  _again_ , and that no one could prevent it.

Nausea washed over him. Was he going to die? Would there even be time when he went back to know what was happening? He was shaking, unable to focus on anything in front of him. The world around him faded - he couldn't even feel Koushiro's hand on his shoulder, or the bed beneath him. It was as though all of his senses had been switched off.

They snapped back. He just had time to register the stars before the sensation of falling kicked in again. A moment later he landed heavily, the wind knocked from him in the same instant as pain flooded his still-reeling mind.

The roof of the engine shed was old, and decaying. He realised that as the timber struts gave way beneath him, sending him crashing into the darkness below. There was a curious sound to his screams, an odd echo that didn't really make sense. He lay for a moment, not moving; too shocked to do more than try and make his startled body breathe again.

Something beside him groaned. He coughed, almost choking on dust as his chest caught up with events and heaved in air. Opening his eyes, he could see the sky through the hole he'd made in the roof. It was larger than he'd expected.

"Patamon?" he asked, after a few breaths.

"He's here," said a voice, each syllable punctuated with a breath. "That… hurt. A lot."

Takeru froze. It took a few seconds for things to add up in his head. The dust had settled around them before he spoke again.

"Umm, Koushiro," he said, a tad hesitantly. "What just happened?"


	15. Chapter 15

For a minute, Takeru thought he wouldn't answer. Perhaps he wasn't even there - maybe it was all a hallucination.

"I'm not sure I can answer that," came the eventual reply. Koushiro spoke between long pauses for breath. "It seems… every time I think I know what's going on, something changes."

They lay in silence for a while longer. Eventually, the lumps of wood poking into him became too much to bear. Groaning, he tried to sit up. Something under him shifted. His eyes darted around him, trying to make sense of the shapes he could see. Light filtered in through the hole they had made in the roof, but their surroundings were still shrouded in darkness. From his position, he couldn't see the door. Wooden spars and other debris were piled around him, as though he lay in the centre of a crater.

"I think I'm stuck," he said at last. "If I move, this lot might come down on top of me."

Koushiro swore. That was a surprise in and of itself. Koushiro was one of the politest people he knew. If he was worried enough to start cursing, that had to be a bad thing.

"What about you?" he asked the older boy. "If you can get up, you can see where we are. I think we landed in the engine shed, but I didn't really have time to make sure of that."

Timber creaked and groaned to his left. Takeru twisted his neck awkwardly trying to see - he'd landed slightly on his right side, which didn't help. It was just as well Jou had bandaged his shoulder thoroughly - he could feel splintered wood and shingles beneath him.

"I think… no. It's all pretty precarious," said Kousiro's voice. "I can move a little, and I can see what looks like a platform of some sort, but if I attempt to reach it, I think the rest will collapse. My arm doesn't feel too good, either. I don't know that I would be able to grip well enough with it." There was a pause. "How big is this building?"

Takeru closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Pretty big. I know there was more than one train in here, and some pretty old coaches. And.. There was a bit off to the side, like a building inside a building. The top of it was covered in boxes."

"Okay. I see boxes. We must be on that structure, or close to it."

"Patamon's with you, right Koushiro? He could look and see."

Silence. "He's not awake, Takeru," Koushiro said at last. "I think it's taking all his energy not to de-digivolve again. In all probability, he hasn't recovered from your last fight yet."

There was nothing he could say to that. Instead, he tried to roll further onto his right-hand side, slowly and painstakingly twisting his body so that he remained in the same spot. Every now and then something would creak ominously, making him freeze up again, but at last he lay on his stomach, able to peer downwards through a gap in the rubble.

It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness - he'd been staring up at the stars for too long. What he saw when they did wasn't a huge comfort - open air lay beneath him, with the floor some six feet or so below. Some of the larger struts had blocked their descent, but there was little to hold them in place now.

"I think we need a new plan," he said. "I think we're partly over the edge of that office area. I can see one of the engines nearby. I'll bet the big beams are wedged between that and the office."

"Can you reach your D-Terminal?" Koushiro asked. "We know Taichi was on his way here. If he can find us, Greymon or even Tailmon might be able to help us out of this mess."

"I can try," Takeru replied. I might need to roll onto my back again first though."

"Okay. Be careful. I'm pretty sure Yamato would kill me if I let you get any more injured than you are right now."

He froze. There was silence for a moment. He didn't want to think about his brother - it was hard enough staying calm as it was, and he  _needed_  to. He'd be buried under a pile of debris if he screwed up now.

"Shit. I'm sorry Takeru," Koushiro said. "That was an exceedingly insensitive thing for me to say. But, he's safe, wherever he is. He has to be."

"No thanks to me," Takeru replied, twisting his shoulders so that he rested on the left. "It  _was_  me, wasn't it? My message?"

Koushiro didn't reply. He didn't have to.

"If I hadn't sent it, he would have been fine." He eased his left arm forwards, trying to find something stable to hold onto, and winced as the burn on his hand knocked into something with a sharp edge. "I put him in danger. He could be worse off than we are right now, and it's because of me."

"I should have warned you," Koushiro replied. His voice was leaden. "It wasn't your fault. He sent me a message saying not to contact him, and I didn't pass that message on. If you're going to blame anyone, blame me."

It would be nice to blame someone else, a part of him thought. To alleviate at least some of the guilt. Could he be angry at Koushiro? He looked around him, at the mess he lay in the middle of. Despite his best efforts, pieces of the debris had fallen to the ground below as he moved. Even as he started shifting his legs, something by his feet slipped, and dropped to the floor with a crash. Silence fell in its wake; the only sound that of their still-uneven breaths. How long would it be before the rest of this pile of rubble collapsed?

"You probably should have told me, Koushiro," he said eventually, once he was sure that nothing else was going to move. His D-Terminal was in his right hand pocket. He ought to be able to reach it now.

"I-"

"But you know what? I just dropped you through a roof. I think that evens things out a little."

Koushiro actually laughed, then. Not for long, and it had a high, hysteria-laced edge, but it was laughter. Takeru smiled grimly. What else did they have to cling to? A moment later, his hand closed around the D-Terminal, and he eased it out. They had a chance.

"Got it. Okay. Let's see if Taichi's awake."

* * *

_Earlier that day: Sunday, 2:53am_

Yamato crouched down beneath the level of the window. Gabumon watched him carefully, waiting to see what he would do. The footsteps were drawing nearer.

He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. It was quiet enough that he could hear their voices, too, although not the words they were saying.

The bleep of a message rang out, almost deafening in the local silence. He scrambled to grab his phone and switch it off, hearing the voices raised in surprise. Why the hell hadn't he simply turned it off  _before_? The tramp of feet outside took on the echoes of a march indoors, and he thrust it back into his pocket, turning to face the door. Beside him, Gabumon's fur bristled.

He froze as a man peered through the doorway of the room they had hidden in. Another human? Gabumon moved as though to protect him, but Yamato held out an arm in protest. He could see where the man's alarmed gaze was directed, and it wasn't at himself.

"Who are you?" he made himself ask, swallowing heavily. Gabumon had backed down, which was good. Wasn't this city meant to be abandoned? It had certainly looked it. "Where did you come from?"

The stranger looked startled, and whistled to someone out of sight. It sounded like a signal of some sort.

"I should ask you the same thing," the stranger replied, turning back to face them both. He drew a pistol from a holster on his belt. Yamato clenched his fist. This probably wasn't good. "Why do you trespass here, and what are you doing with that  _monster_?"

"I'm not a monster!" Gabumon replied. Yamato could hear the injured pride in his friend's voice. "Not like that. I'm a digimon!"

The stranger's eyes widened. "It talks!"

Yamato scowled. Gun or not, this stranger was mistaken if he thought them helpless. "Of course he talks," he said, standing up. It was pointless trying to hide now. "He's a digimon, and he's my friend. Now, I don't know what this place is, but-"

"Silence!" barked a new voice. It sounded almost artificial; any identifying features had been stripped from it.

Its owner stepped into the room, wearing the strangest clothes Yamato had ever seen. They were obviously armour of some sort, made of overlapping plates which covered the newcomer from head to toe. A helmet obscured their face, and made it impossible to tell if the person was male or female. They carried a sword in one hand, blade extended. As they approached, the first stranger raised his pistol, pointing it at Gabumon.

"You are trespassing in the city, and you consort with beast-folk," the new stranger continued. "Do not resist or we shall be forced to slay you." They turned to the man with the pistol. "Take them in. Their Graces will want to know about this."

More strangers -  _soldiers_ , Yamato realised - came into the room. Three levelled pistols at him and Gabumon, while two more strode over, and drew ropes from satchels. They grabbed Gabumon first, and began to tie his arms to his sides.

"Don't fight," said Yamato, his eyes on the pistols. "You couldn't digivolve fast enough."

His partner looked at him, confused, but said and did nothing as the soldiers bound his arms. Yamato had to look away as they muzzled him.

"I'm sorry," he said, feeling like a traitor as the two men turned to him and forced his arms behind his back. But what could he do? This wasn't the digital world, and these weren't digimon. They looked as human as he was. Who knew how much damage human weapons could inflict on his partner. Not to mention himself.

"Silence!" barked the person with the sword - their leader, most likely. An officer of some sort, that was certain at least.

His hands were tied firmly, but not so tight as to cut off circulation. Whoever these people were, they had been trained for this. It wasn't a particularly reassuring thought. If they had fought back, the ones holding guns would have fired without compunction.

They were led out of the building and along the city streets. The glare from the sun made Yamato's eyes water - all the more as he could no longer raise a hand to shade them. Every now and then he would lose his footing, only to be hauled to his feet by a strong grip on his shoulder. He couldn't see Gabumon, and his few attempts to turn and look for his partner were met with a cuff to the side of his head and an order to keep going.

At last, the soldiers turned a corner and shoved them through a doorway to a room which was blesssedly dimmer than the outside. His relief was short-lived. Their path took them to a door, and a flight of stairs leading downwards.

He couldn't help it. There was no way they were taking him down into those cellars without a fight. Not after two weeks of nightmares about what came out of them. He started to struggle, wrenching away from the soldier beside him. The rope bit into his wrists as he struggled to loosen the bonds there.

The soldier gripped his upper arm tightly, and yanked him back. Simultaneously, someone kicked out at the backs of his knees, making him buckle. A hand gripped the hair at the back of his head and pushed down; forcing him to kneel and tipping his head back in one smooth movement.

"Don't mess us around, boy," the soldier said. "You come peacefully or not at all."

"You think I want to go down there, where those  _things_  are?" Yamato said, then gritted his teeth, biting back a cry of pain. The hand holding his hair had twisted, pulling hard.

Their leader, a few paces ahead, turned around.

"What things?" that strange voice asked.

Yamato grunted as his hair was released. "The things under the buildings outside the city," he said at last, scowling. "Monsters."

Their masked leader let out a short laugh. "You speak ill of monsters and yet you travel with one. Their Graces shall be most intrigued. Still. Fear not, intruder. There are no monsters within the city save your alleged friend. Our patrols see to that. Now. Get moving. It is not so safe out here that we wish to dally for idle chit-chat with prisoners."

A soldier - he no longer cared which - forced him to his feet, and guided him down the stairs. Instead of the cellar Yamato had been expecting, they were led along a corridor, through a barred gate, and down what felt like miles of tunnels. At last they reached a more open area.

"What now, Captain?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Search them, and put them in a holding cell for the time being. Their Graces will decide what happens to them."

It took all of Yamato's willpower not to fight back as they rifled through his pockets, taking his phone and wallet. He let out a cry of protest when they found his digivice and took that too. Only the meaningful look another soldier gave Gabumon held him in check. If he fought back now, they would shoot his partner. Probably himself as well.

Thoroughly defeated, he was led into a cell with a thick wooden door. Gabumon was mercifully placed in the same one. One of the soldiers approached, and order Yamato to present his hands. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he turned his back on the man, who already held a knife out, but his bonds were sliced without even a nick to his skin. No one offered to release Gabumon. They simply left the cell, locking it behind them. One of the two - the one given guard duty most likely - remained, watching through the bars in the top half of the cell door.

After rubbing his wrists to soothe the rope burn he freed his partner himself. The guard didn't protest, at least. He simply snorted derisively and left them. Yamato slumped into a corner, letting his head fall into his hands. The adrenaline which had kept him going was starting to run out. He wanted to close his eyes and never open them again. Maybe if he did he would wake up back home.

A clang roused him. He looked up blearily, to see a guard outside the cell. The perspective looked strange, until he realised that he was lying on the floor. Had he been asleep? Gabumon was by his side in a moment, watching the guard warily. Neither of them spoke as the man fiddled with something and raised a portion of the door enough to slide a plate into the cell. He dropped the hatch and was about to leave when Yamato scrambled to his feet.

"Wait!" The guard stopped, and turned back to the cell. "Why are they keeping us here? We didn't do anything!"

"You were caught trespassing in the city above," the guard replied, speaking slowly. From the look on his face he thought Yamato an idiot.

"I thought it was  _abandoned_. I didn't know it was trespassing!" He clenched his fists. "I don't even know where I am. You can't just keep us here like this - we haven't done anything wrong!"

"That's for their Graces to decide, not you," the guard said.

"And who are they? Who are these "Graces" you all keep talking about? You can't just lock us up without telling us anything!"

The guard simply shook his head and walked away. Yamato briefly considered yelling out some of his frustration - but that was as likely to bring them back with weapons as anything. They had seemed on the brink of killing Gabumon as it was. He couldn't risk angering these people.

Gritting his teeth with frustration, he looked at the plate. He was familiar with rough fare, having spent those months stranded in the Digital world. It was just as well, really. The plate was deep; almost a bowl really. It contained chunks of grey meat swimming in a thin broth, with a wedge of bread already going soggy on one side.

"You'd best have the meat, Gabumon," he said, carrying it over to his partner. "It's not much, but you need to keep up what strength you have. Who knows how long we're going to be stuck here."

Gabumon protested at first, but ate the meat, leaving Yamato with the bread. They ate in silence. Yamato would have been content to give his partner everything, but he knew Gabumon would have refused.

"How long was I asleep for?" he said at last. "There doesn't seem to be any way of tracking the time down here."

"Only a few hours, I would say, Yamato. The guard who brought that food said something about six bells of the afternoon, but I do not understand what he meant."

Yamato sighed. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Maybe Taichi had the right of it after all, keeping Agumon away. At least then we wouldn't  _both_  be stuck here."

"Don't be silly," Gabumon replied, shaking his head. "I would rather be stuck here with you than stuck on Earth or in the Digital World without you."

Yamato smiled wryly. "I suppose I should have expected you to say that."

* * *

_Sunday, 1:09pm_

Half-remembered dreams echoed around his head as he woke. For a moment, the stone walls of the cell were painted over with trees, lit by the pale glow of starlight which filtered through the canopy. He had been running, hadn't he?

No. He was stuck here. Locked away underground, with no natural light and no way to tell how much time had passed. Gabumon slept on beside him. The walls were made of strong stone, and the only openings were a very solid looking door, and a grate in the floor which was the width of his outstretched hand. The room was bare of anything else save a small heap of material which he and his partner had used as a pillow.

He ached all over. Of course, that wasn't particularly surprising - he'd been sore already, and a hard floor to sleep on was never going to have helped.

Before, he had been too tired to really consider his situation properly. Too tired, and too angry. Well, he was still angry - but now anxiety was kicking in, as he realised the full implications. With no way of communicating with the others, what would they think had happened? He had to find a way to get a message to them somehow - but his only way of doing that was his phone. Even now, the battery would be wearing down. He hadn't thought to charge it before falling asleep. If he didn't get it back soon, it wouldn't even matter if they let him go. He'd be cut off. It had been simple before, when the trips to this place had only lasted an hour or two. But he'd clearly been here far longer than that now. And all the while he was in this prison, there was nothing to send him home.

He was pacing, back and forth. Instead of bleeding off some of his nervous energy it seemed only to add to it. Finally, he could stand it no more and marched over to the door, thumping it as hard as he could.

"Hey!  _Hey_!" The barred section of the door gave him a limited view of the corridor in which the cells were situated. If there was a guard on duty - which he was certain there would be - whoever it was had somewhere more comfortable to sit. Behind him he could hear Gabumon stirring.

No one replied. He shouted for someone to come and answer him until his throat went hoarse, then kicked the door for good measure.

His anger spent for the time being, he leant against the wall and slowly slid to the ground. Through it all, Gabumon had remained silent. That didn't surprise Yamato. They understood each other well. His partner didn't need to offer comfort - just his presence was enough.

He'd already lost track of how long he'd been down here. Not a full day, that was certain. Beyond that, it was impossible to tell. Was it day or night in the world above? And what about the others? What time did that make it in the real world? Koushiro had messaged him to say that Takeru was safe, but how long would that have lasted? He ought to be with his younger brother. Not here in this miserable prison, somewhere underneath a ruined city in the middle of an unknown world. He didn't even know if the others had made it home again. He felt useless.

How long would it be before someone told him what was going on? Surely they couldn't leave him locked up forever? The back of his head connected with the wall, and he stared blankly at the ceiling. All he could do now was wait.


	16. Chapter 16

Taichi had stopped pacing, for the moment at least. Instead, he was staring out of one of the windows, hungrily watching the sky for signs of an approaching dawn. His right hand idly rubbed the clumsily bandaged scratch just above his hip. They might have fought the beasts on the island off, but he hadn't made it away scot free.

Damn Koushiro for being right. Damn this stupid world for being back to front. His body was screaming that it was only mid-afternoon, and that he should be out there looking for his sister. He _had_  been, not that long ago.

And then he'd messaged Takeru for another beacon, and Daisuke had replied instead, telling him that Takeru was back in the real world and looked a complete wreck. Man, when Yamato found out about  _that_  mess, there was gonna be trouble. Wherever he was now, it probably wasn't far enough away to save him from the mother of all punches when Yamato learnt that Taichi had allowed his little brother to put himself in danger.

Urgh. That train of thought led to unpleasant places. After all, there was nothing he could do for either Yamato or Hikari for the moment. That was the whole problem, in fact. Because it was too dark and, in the wake of Koushiro's unexpected visit to this place, apparently too dangerous to fly around at night.

He'd been better off not knowing there were monsters here. If it hadn't been for the fact he would need Agumon to keep his strength for finding Hikari, he would have kept going regardless, and damned the consequences. He was pretty sure his partner felt the same way. Tailmon certainly did.

Still, he'd promised. And he could grudgingly accept that, seeing as he was the only one left in this place who could do anything for the time being, it made sense to be careful. Getting his mother to talk to him was a low blow from Koushiro though. He could have ducked out on a promise made to anyone else. Of course, that was probably the exact reason Koushiro had done it. Honestly, the guy was too smart for his own good sometimes.

His phone bleeped. Which of them was it this time? The sender confused him at first. He'd been expecting Mikayo, but instead Jou's name flashed up on screen.

_:Taichi. Sora woke up. Apparently she was attacked by another giant bird. Doesn't sound like the one that attacked Takeru. She soun:_

Wait. Takeru had been  _attacked_? Jeez, no one told him anything. Although, it was odd, no doubts there. Jou wasn't one to rush things. So why had he sent a message which seemed to cut off in the middle?

The phone bleeped again.

_:New problem. Takeru and Koushiro just vanished somehow. Patamon is gone too. Daisuke said it was just like when Takeru vanished into the other world, except neither of them was asleep. They must have appeared back in the world where you are. Daisuke says there's a chance they'll appear in the air and could be injured.:_

He swore loudly.

"What's wrong, Taichi?" Tailmon asked, looking up sharply. She'd been investigating one of the side rooms, by the light of a branch Agumon had set alight for her. His own partner had a similar torch, and had turned to look at him.

"Sora's safe, but Takeru and Koushiro are back here somehow," he said, staring at the screen in his hand. "Honestly, this world just gets better and better. Agumon, you find any more food? Looks like we're gonna need it. From the sound of what Jou said, they're gonna be in trouble."

Agumon nodded. "There's not a lot, but a few of the boxes have food. I told you my nose is never wrong!"

Taichi forced a smile onto his face. "Well, we'd better gather up what we can," he said. "If we don't hear from those two soon, I don't care what promises I made. No way am I just gonna sit here when I could be  _doing_  something."

* * *

_Sunday, 1:56pm_

"Look, look! She's waking up!"

"Hush, you. Remember your orders."

"Well, she doesn't look dangerous to  _me_."

Hikari wished the voices would stop. She felt groggy and sick, and her head throbbed. It hadn't helped that she had just woken up from some rather disturbing dreams which couldn't seem to make up their minds if the were about a forest, a desert, or some sort of building. The details were rapidly fading as the blur in front of her resolved into thick wooden bars; two faces behind them were watching her intently.

Wait. That wasn't right.

"Tailmon?" she croaked. Her mouth felt dry and unpleasant, and she coughed. Hadn't she been in the forest?

"What language is that?" said the first voice. It belonged to the small face on the left, which watched her with bright green eyes.

"I said be quiet!" the second voice replied. "It's not your job to worry about that. It's your job to watch her. Now wait here while I go notify them that she's stirring."

The face on the right turned, scowling, and flew off. Hikari just had time to see a blur of deep brown wings before it was gone. The remaining face watched her, green eyes wide in a face which held none of the cynicism and irritation of its former partner's.

She blinked. As the groggy sensation faded more, the situation she was in made increasingly little sense. She was lying on a bed of some sort, in a stone room with bars blocking one wall. Her head rested on a pillow, albeit a pretty thin one.

"Where's Tailmon?" she asked eventually, trying to sit up. Her body felt like one giant ache.

The creature watching her shook its head.

"Nuh-uh," it said. "I'm not falling for that one. I'm supposed to just watch you, not talk to you."

Hikari frowned with confusion. "But you talked to me just then."

The creature froze, an expression of horror on its face. In spite of the surrealness of the whole situation, Hikari couldn't help but smile. While she was pretty certain that this creature wasn't human - the wings were a giveaway there - it didn't look as though it was much more than a child. Surrounding those big green eyes was a face whose open honesty made it instantly likeable.

"I…. No one will believe you!" it replied, pointing its finger triumphantly. "So there's no point telling anyone, because they will always take my word over yours. You're just an outsider. And you're human too, and Teca said humans always lie."

"Hadn't you best stop talking then?" Hikari replied, smiling softly. Whatever was going on, she didn't want this cheerful…  _not_  human in front of her to get in trouble. It nodded rapidly, and took a step back.

This allowed her to look at it more clearly. It was short - perhaps only three feet high - and had the proportions of a child of about five or six. In fact, it would have looked as though it were a child but for the pair of stubby wings emerging from its back. They folded downwards like a moth's, but flapped back up again with every fidget. Its hair was a brown, curly mop which reached down over its ears. It wore what she could only assume was a dress, although in reality it was little more than a gathering of brown rags. A young girl had been left to guard her, when they thought she was dangerous? What was going on?

With nothing else to do, she took in her surroundings. The bed was a thin mattress on a stone shelf. A worn blanket had been lain over the top. There was nothing else on her side of the wooden bars. Curiously, there didn't seem to be a door. How had they gotten her in? And more importantly, how was she supposed to get out? Tailmon might be somewhere nearby, waiting for her. Or had these strange creatures caught her partner too? She couldn't really imagine Tailmon going without a fight. Then again, that might have been why they regarded her as dangerous.

The silence stretched out. She tried coughing, to clear her throat, but that only made her more aware of how thirsty she really was. How long had she been asleep? The more she tried to piece together her last memories, the less sense they seemed to make.

"Nonie!" The first voice was back.

Hikari watched as the child in front of her spun to look at the speaker, clasping hands behind her back. The wings fluttered up and settled on top of them. The expression on the girl's face was familiar - Hikari recognised it as a particularly good example of "I am clearly far too cute to have even considered doing something I was told not to do".

"Yes Alwyn?"

"Time for you to go. They'll be here shortly."

The speaker - Alwyn - looked older than Nonie, but not much taller. He was dressed in a tatty pair of trousers, and a loose shirt. Hikari couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to get it on over the pair of wings jutting out of his back. They weren't much broader than his shoulders, but they still seemed something of an obstacle. Of course, there were probably more pressing matters she ought to be thinking of at that moment, but the whole situation had taken such a sudden turn to the surreal that despite everything, a part of her was still waiting to wake up.

He cleared his throat, and she jumped. Blinking, she realised that the girl had left while she'd been staring at him.

"What  _are_  you?" she asked.

"I could say the same to you," he replied, crossing his arms. "And when the elders arrive, you had best be able to answer that question to their satisfaction. You appear human, and yet you traverse the forest alone save for a cat with whom you exchanged words. Tell me, what manner of feline was that? A shapeshifter? A demon? The result of an enchantment or curse?"

Hikari blanched. "What do you mean  _was_? Where's Tailmon now? She isn't here?"

"Your companion disappeared as you were apprehended. Now tell me. What manner of beast was she?"

Hikari sat back on the bed, feeling sick. Tailmon had vanished? That had to mean she'd returned to Earth. If that was the case, the others would be worried about her. She had to send a message and let them know she was alive and healthy. Without thinking, she went to grab her D-Terminal, and found it missing. After patting her pockets and realising her D3 was gone too, she looked up. Alwyn was watching her, his expression as surly as it had been the whole time.

"Where is it," she said, standing up. "Where are my things?"

"Your belongings are being held securely for the time being. We cannot take risks. At such time as you are able to provide a satisfactory explanation for your presence in the forest, they shall be returned."

Her stomach clenched. "Please," she said, walking closer to the bars. "I have to get a message to my friends. And my brother. I didn't know I was trespassing - I just woke up in this world, and I was lost."

For a moment she thought he might relent - certainly his expression softened a little. Then he frowned again, and her heart sank.

"And the cat?" he asked.

"Tailmon's my partner! She's not from this world either, so she's certainly not going to put you in any danger! She's a digimon, only you won't know what-"

"The cat is a  _digimon_? And you travel with her and say she is no threat?"

Hikari took a step back, shocked by the venom in his voice. His wings buzzed as he took to the air, hovering so that his eyes were on a level with her own.

"Wait, so you've  _heard_  of digimon?" she said, when the shock had passed enough for her to speak. "I don't understand. This isn't the digital world, and it's not Earth. How do you know about them?"

"For months now, their kind has begun to supplement the dark forces arrayed against us," he replied. "They press upon us, bringing ever greater distortions in their wake. And you speak of them as friends?"

He spat on the floor, making her jump. Beyond that, she was too surprised to do anything but continue staring at him, while the mass of jumbled thoughts in her head ran riot. It was all so close to making sense that it made her want to scream with frustration.

It hit her. Eyes widening, she gasped.

"I know why I'm here," she whispered.

Alwyn didn't move, although he raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you've thought of an excuse? Do tell me."

She could feel the nervous energy bubbling up inside her. It made  _sense_. And she was stuck here, with a possible answer and no way to get it out. Raising her hands to her temples, she cradled her forehead. How could she explain?

"You have to believe me - I think I know what's happening," she said after a moment. "It has to be - we  _saved_  the digital world a year ago. If digimon are here now, there has to be something going wrong that we need to fix. Please, you need to give me my D-Terminal! I have to tell the others!"

* * *

_Sunday, 2:26pm_

Taichi was just about to set out blindly when his phone bleeped.

"It's Takeru," he said, in answer to Tailmon's hopeful expression. Her ears had pricked with every message since Hikari had been captured, waiting for news from her partner.

Agumon looked over from the bags of supplies that they had gathered. "What did he-

"Shit! We gotta go. Agumon, you're gonna have to fly. Tailmon, I'll need you to help me look out for a clearing in the forest."

Tailmon nodded, looking worried. "What's happened?"

Instead of answering, he thrust his phone into her paw while he started gathering the supplies to go.

_:Taichi, we need help. Landed on a roof that collapsed, and we're stuck. It's a train station in the forest. There's a track that runs through the trees. You can see it from the air like a line running parallel to the coast. Station is where the track splits in two. Not sure how long until the debris collapses. Patamon unconscious.:_

Agumon had already gone outside to digivolve, without waiting to hear what was wrong. Taichi shielded his eyes as he walked out of the building and held up the digivice - he'd learnt the hard way that the light it created in this world was enough to nearly blind him.

"And again, Greymon," he called up to his partner. When he opened his eyes, Tailmon was carrying one of the makeshift sacks they had put together on her back.

"Here's your phone, Taichi," she said, offering it to him. "I'll hold onto this one."

He nodded, murmuring his thanks, and shoved it into his pocket. "We'd best get going. I don't know how easy it's gonna be to spot this place."

Climbing on to his partner for the ride proved a little tricky with the extra baggage they were carrying, but after a couple of false starts he found a way to hold on to the supplies  _and_  stay put. He could tell that Tailmon was incredibly worried about Hikari - she didn't even tease him about how easily she was able to clamber up by comparison.

They flew quickly at first, knowing that they had to be several miles from the clearing. The stars lit the world below enough for them to see clearly, although not so well that he could spot the line marking the train track which Takeru had mentioned in his message.

After a while, he realised the coast was getting nearer. That didn't seem such a bad thing at first - after all, he knew that Takeru had started out in the water. Of course, the only risk there was that they would overshoot and miss the clearing.

"We need to go higher," he called. "We're too close to the trees to see this line he talked about!"

His partner nodded, and Taichi clung on as the world below him receded. Forest, stretching out for miles and miles. Where was that line? It had to be around here somewhere. And they were counting on him - who knew what state they'd end up in if he was too late.

"There, Taichi! I see it!"

A gloved paw pointed to a think, slightly darker line in the trees. Just as Takeru had promised, it ran sort of parallel to the coast, although he couldn't see any clearings just yet. Apparently MetalGreymon had seen it too, for he veered in that direction a moment later.

For the first time in hours, Taichi felt optimistic. Yes, it was true that he was rushing to the aid of two of his friends who were in trouble. But he'd done that sort of thing before. He knew where he stood with rescue missions. And it sure as hell beat sitting around waiting. With the wind rushing through his hair, and a starlit world laid out below, he could almost -  _almost_  - believe that it was just like old times again. Despite the gnawing worry in his chest, he even found himself smiling.

Naturally, this was the exact moment that something ricocheted off of MetalGreymon's head with a sharp clang. He clung to his partner as the massive digimon turned in the air to face the direction the attack had come from.

 _You just had to get cocky, didn't you_ , he told himself ruefully. A huge bird flew nearby, with black glossy wings, and something moving on its back. Even as he watched, it seemed to rear taller. A moment later, MetalGreymon growled with pain as the attack struck.

"Giga Destroyer!"

He and Tailmon clung even tighter as his partner launched a counter-attack. The two missiles flew through the air, and for a moment Taichi was certain they would hit. At the last moment the bird pulled into a rapid dive, twisting to avoid being hit, and they detonated in the trees below.

"It's too fast!" Tailmon yelled. She handed the bag to Taichi. "Get closer! You can throw me across and I'll take them out. Just be ready to catch me afterwards."

Another shot whistled past, and he groaned as the heavy bag swung into the cut on his side. Much as he hated the plan - Hikari would kill him if anything happened to Tailmon - he had to admit that it sounded like their only option. MetalGreymon was just too  _big_. This bird was small and nimble. It hadn't seemed to find it hard to dodge the attack, and it could return fire silently and rapidly. They didn't have time to wear it down, either. Takeru and Koushiro needed them now.

"Okay," he said. "You'd better be sure about this."

Tailmon nodded, and he urged his partner closer. Apparently, their foe hadn't expected them to charge. The miss had been useful then - they'd thought he was only capable of ranged attacks. As they drew closer, Tailmon didn't wait to be thrown - she leapt through the air and immediately attacked the shape on the bird's back.

It was almost impossible to follow the fight. Mostly this was because as soon as she had leapt, MetalGreymon dived down to be underneath the bird. Taichi strained to see what was going on for a few seconds, but was forced to give up and cling to his partner instead.

"Hey, careful!" he cried. "Don't get so caught up catching her that you drop me!"

The fight didn't last long. There was a long screech as the rider fell from the bird. As Tailmon jumped clear, MetalGreymon launched his trident arm, catching her and reeling her back in. Now riderless, the black bird cawed loudly and wheeled away.

"That was too easy," Taichi remarked, as Tailmon settled back down and they resumed their flight. He could just about make out her rather scornful expression. "Alright, alright, I know it was you doing the fighting and not me, but, honestly? Aside from the whole being in the air thing, it wasn't like you were in any real danger."

"You do have a point," she said at last. "I will admit that I was surprised by how quickly I was able to tackle that creature."

"Well, I think we should stay on our guard. No telling when something stronger might come along."

"They hit pretty hard, too, for such small things," MetalGreymon remarked. "I don't know what that attack was, Taichi, but it certainly didn't feel like any attack from a digimon."

Taichi frowned. "Are you okay? Can you keep going, or do you need to stop?"

His partner laughed. "It'll take more than that to stop me!"

Relieved, Taichi returned his attention to the forest below. The sooner they found Koushiro, the better. It was time they started to get some answers about this place.


	17. Chapter 17

_Sunday, 2:45pm_

 

All in all, it wasn’t a good day. It had started out bad, and sort of dived downwards after that. Now, it was barely mid-afternoon and he was lying in a fragile, painful cradle of splintered wood, trying not to move too much in case it collapsed around him. Somewhere over to his left Koushiro was similarly trapped, with his partner. He couldn’t even see Patamon to know if he was alright.

 

To top it all off, he could feel the beam under his chest starting to move. Not a lot but he was definitely aware of the fact his shoulder was lower than it had been a few minutes ago. He hadn’t said anything to Koushiro. To judge from the occasional creaks from that direction, they were both in the same boat.

 

Neither of them had been talking much. If his guesses were correct, they were both too preoccupied with making sure they didn’t move and dislodge something vital to keeping them in relative safety.

 

“Do you think Taichi got the message?” he managed at last.

 

“I’m sure of it,” came Koushiro’s reply. “No doubt he simply didn’t think to send a message in return before setting off. It would be very much in character.”

 

How long do we give it?” Takeru asked, not wanting to fully voice his real fear - what if the larger beams collapsed before Taichi arrived?

 

“I’m not sure,” Koushiro said. He sounded as tense as Takeru had ever heard him. “It’s… It’s not the easiest of situations to extract ourselves from without help.”

 

“How’s Patamon? Does he look like he’s gonna wake up any time soon?”

 

“He just looks like he’s sleeping. I’m sure he’s fine, Takeru.”

 

They fell silent again. It wasn’t as though there was much to say. After a moment, something by his head shifted. He turned slightly, then froze as he heard it hit the floor below with a splintering sound. What would go next?

 

“Was that you, Takeru?” Koushiro asked. There was the faintest of quavers in his voice.

 

“Something fell,” he replied. “I don’t think it’s very stable, is the problem. One of the beams is slipping. Not fast or anything, but I don’t think it’s gonna hold forever.”

 

Silence.

 

“Hypothetically speaking, if the primary support beneath you _were_ to collapse and, you were to fall a moderate distance with assorted debris, would that be likely to make you fear for your life? Naturally I don’t foresee that situation arising, but, as… call it a thought experiment-”

 

Takeru sighed. “I can see the ground, Koushiro. It’s not that far. I mean, if I think about it, yeah, falling is not gonna be good at all. It’s really going to hurt. But… if you’re asking if I’d be scared enough to get home? I’m not. That’s kind of the whole problem.”

 

Koushiro didn’t reply. Takeru didn’t blame him. There wasn’t really anything to say. All they could do was wait and hope that Taichi arrived before gravity won out.

 

Takeru lasted another five minutes or so before the silence became unbearable.

 

“How’s Patamon looking?” he asked.

 

“Still asleep,” Koushiro replied. “I _would_ tell you if anything changed, you know.”

 

He gritted his teeth. It was all very well for Koushiro to say that. Tentomon was still safely in the digital world. He hadn’t been one of those nearby when Sora made her quick stop to fetch Patamon and Gabumon. It wasn’t Tentomon who had worn himself to the point of exhaustion and then been trapped, unconscious, in a strange world. And it wasn’t Koushiro who had to just lie there, fighting instincts which screamed at him to go and make sure his partner was okay.

 

What _was_ Koushiro thinking? They’d known each other five years - longer if you counted the condensed months they’d spent in the digital world - and in all that time, Takeru had never been able to understand him half so well as he did the rest of the Chosen Children. Mostly, he was ashamed to realise, because he only really talked to him if there was a problem with the digital world. He didn’t even have the excuse of not seeing him very often. Koushiro often hung out with Taichi, playing video games. He was almost always there when Takeru dropped by to talk to Hikari. And he couldn’t help but remember that, despite the fact he near enough blanked the older boy half the time, Koushiro had been second on his list of people to ask for help. What kind of person was he, to only pay attention to someone when he needed a favour from them?

 

“I’m sorry,” he found himself saying.

 

“For what, Takeru?” Koushiro replied. He sounded surprised.

 

Thinking quickly, he said: “Well. You’re right. I don’t need to keep asking the same thing.” He’d make up for being a bad friend later.

 

“It’s okay. I know I would be just as worried were it Tentomon in the same situation. Concern makes people act differently. Less rationally. I will admit, it’s one reason I wish Taichi had sent a message. I’m worried about him.”

 

Takeru blinked. “You’re worried about _Taichi_?”

 

Koushiro sighed. “Not only Taichi, of course. Obviously I am extremely concerned about Yamato and Hikari. But I also know what Taichi is like when he worries. He acts irrationally. Sometimes that can cause more problems. You remember that time in the Digital world, when Hikari got sick?”

 

“Of course,” Takeru replied. He was pretty sure he could never forget. Aside from everything else, he’d as good as been made responsible for someone else’s life at the age of eight. It had been a pretty formative experience.

 

“Well. When we were separated, Taichi was so worried he walked us until we dropped, trying to find her. Even when Agumon fell over from exhaustion, he wouldn’t listen to reason. He’s grown up a lot since then, but I saw the same expression on his face when he realised Tailmon had come back without Hikari. He hasn’t gotten any less protective of her. And we _really_ don’t need him to do something stupid here.”

 

Takeru looked up at the hole in the ceiling. The sky was still awash with blurry stars. Aside from the odd creak of timber, everything was silent. They were about as alone in this place as it was possible to be. He hadn’t even seen any wildlife here, aside from the giant bird and its rider, which had attacked him. Koushiro was right. Taichi was the only one still uninjured and free in this place. If anything happened to him, they would have to wait for midnight before Sora had a chance of coming back - and that was assuming she’d ended up somewhere close enough to be of use.

 

“Takeru?”

 

“Patamon!” Takeru cried, relief washing over him. It took all his self-restraint to keep still. “Patamon, are you okay?”

 

“Don’t move, Patamon,” Koushiro said. “We’re in a rather tricky situation at the moment, and it is vital that you remain still.”

 

“Koushiro?” said Patamon, sounding confused. “What happened? Why are you here?”

 

“I’m still working on that one,” Koushiro replied. “For the moment at least, the only important thing to know is that we are in a very precarious location which is liable to collapse, so it is imperative that you do not disturb the rubble surrounding us.”

 

“Okay… I _think_ I understand. But where’s Takeru? I heard his voice but I can’t see him.”

 

“I’m not far, Patamon,” Takeru called. “I’m… we’re all stuck. If we move, this lot will collapse. But I’m okay, I promise.”

 

The relief was overwhelming. He had been worried, yes. But he hadn’t realise how worried until he’d heard his partner’s voice. It was so much easier to be optimistic when he had Patamon. So much easier to push his doubts away, and believe, firmly, that everything would turn out fine. All they had to do was wait for Taichi.

 

* * *

 

 

_Sunday, 2:30pm_

 

Mimi blinked a few times, shading her eyes with a raised hand. The portal had taken her to an open, sunny meadow, littered with flowers. Smiling wryly, she looked at the television set behind her. _I knew I should have brought a hat._

 

Palmon ought to be nearby. It would be good to see her partner again. She hadn’t been to the digital world much recently. Moving back to Japan, it turned out, had meant a lot of studying to catch up with her classmates in some subjects. Particularly as she had exams to look forward to in order to get into Senior High school the following year. She’d started to wonder if it would have been better for her to finish her education in America after all.

 

At least she was at the same Junior High school as the others. Of course, it had been one of the things she had been the most insistent about with her parents, seeing as they were uprooting her in order to move halfway around the world again. If they were really going to change their minds about living in America just as she finally started to settle there, she had demanded that they at least let her return to old friends. It was hard enough keeping track of her extensive social circle as it was.

 

She frowned, remembering why she was there. It was doubly good that she was back, really. What would have happened if she’d still been in America when all this had kicked off?

 

“Palmon, where are you?” she called.

 

Past the meadow was a line of trees. She sighed, and set off down the hill, letting her hand trail through the wildflowers. It would be nice to sit here for the afternoon, relaxing in the sun. She’d missed sitting with Palmon, letting the hours go by without anything to bother her. Unfortunately, for the time being at least, that didn’t appear to be an option.

 

First, it had been Takeru who had called, asking if she’d been having nightmares. He hadn’t really explained much. Just enough to make her worried, and then he’d hung up. She’d put it out of her mind until the next day though - too busy studying to hold much else in her thoughts. Then Miyako had called, not long after lunch, and warned her that she was in danger. That there was a chance she would disappear in her sleep.

 

It wasn’t really the sort of news she’d been expecting, if she were perfectly honest. She’d had to get Miyako to explain it all twice. And then, before she could decide whether or not she should explain it all to her parents, or simply announce that she was staying over at Sora’s apartment as a cover, Jou had called with even more bad news.

 

Now, here she was in the Digital world, having stopped by Iori’s apartment so he could open a gate for her. At least she’d been able to calm the poor boy’s nerves. He’d been even more out of the loop than she was. _It must be bad, if they haven’t even had time to get us all together and explain what’s going on_ , she thought.

 

She didn’t have to walk all the way to the trees, at least. Before she was halfway across the meadow, Tentomon emerged from the trees, flying ahead of Palmon and Gomamon. She waved excitedly. It couldn’t be all _that_ bad now that everyone would have their partners with them, could it? Surely nothing was too big a challenge if they could work together. They’d done it before, after all. Several times over.

 

“Mimi!” cried Palmon, running into her open arms. “I missed you! You hardly ever visit any more.”

 

“I know, Palmon. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make more time when all this is sorted out.” She smiled at her partner. “Maybe I can bring my books and study here, instead of at home! Oh, it will be so much easier in August.”

 

“Well, I think we should be more worried about helping the others for the moment,” said Tentomon. “I know I don’t plan on leaving Koushiro’s side until this is all over.”

 

Mimi’s face fell. “Oh dear,” she said softly. “Jou didn’t tell you?”

 

“Tell us what, Mimi?” Gomamon said. “I thought Koushiro was back in charge of his laptop again.”

 

Mimi shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I don’t really know how to tell you this Tentomon, but you’re going to have to wait a while to see him. You see, Jou called me a few minutes ago, and told me that somehow Koushiro, Takeru and Patamon got pulled back into this strange other world again, and we don’t know where they are or what happened to them.”

 

She winced as the three digimon cried “WHAT?” more or less in unison.

 

“So far most of the others are at Taichi’s apartment,” she said. “I was on my way to pick you up when Jou called. Maybe they know something more than that now. That’s why we have to get over there as quickly as we can.”

 

Tentomon nodded. “Then we’d better hurry up and get out of here,” he said. “Oh dear, I do hope Koushiro hasn’t gotten himself in danger.”

 

* * *

 

 

_Sunday, 3:10pm_

 

They had been lying in silence for a few minutes when Patamon announced that he felt strong enough to fly.

 

“Are you sure?” Takeru asked. “I don’t want you to wear yourself out any more on my account.”

 

“More importantly, it’s no good you flying up into the air if that will bring the whole of this crashing down,” Koushiro pointed out. “Can you get you of there without disturbing anything?”

 

Something clattered from the direction of Patamon’s voice, and Takeru held his breath, releasing it only when he heard Patamon’s triumphant “Aha! I told you I could do it!”

 

“Okay, that’s good. Now you need to fly out onto the roof and look out for MetalGreymon. He should be easy enough to spot from a way off,” said Koushiro.

 

“And don’t fly too high!” called Takeru, craning his head to try and see his partner. “You don’t want to attract any more attention.” He closed his eyes, and added in barely more than a whisper: “Don’t get hurt again because of me.”

 

He wasn’t particularly reassured by the silhouette his partner made, flying out through the hole in the roof. It wasn’t a smooth flight at all - he could tell that Patamon was still exhausted, and ought to be resting, not going in search of help. But what alternative did they have?

 

“He’ll be alright,” came Koushiro’s voice. “He wasn’t underneath much more than a little light debris, and he can sit on the roof outside.”

 

“I know,” Takeru replied, shifting the weight on his shoulder slightly. He winced as he felt the beam beneath his chest slip a little more. Moving had been a bad idea, then. The trouble was, there was only so long a person could physically remain motionless before fidgeting happened simply as a sort of reflex.

 

The next sound came from where Koushiro was. He heard the other boy curse softly, and mutter “Where are you, Taichi.”

 

At last, Patamon reappeared over the hole in the roof.

 

“I can see them!” he cried. “They’re flying over the woods. Just hold on a little longer!”

 

“Yeah, we’re doing that Patamon,” Takeru said, smiling weakly. “Tell them to hurry up, would you?”

 

Patamon flew off. A moment later they heard him shouting Taichi’s name repeatedly.

 

Of course, Taichi arriving in time was one matter. Getting down was something more of a challenge. Patamon led him into the engine shed, his voice echoing around the large space. Takeru could see a flickering light illuminate the ceiling as the drew closer. He could tell the moment that Taichi saw them by the string of expletives.

 

“Well that’s really productive, Taichi,” Koushiro remarked shortly.

 

“Good to hear you too, Koushiro,” Taichi called up. “Just… just give me a minute, okay? I mean, when you said about stuff collapsing I figured it would be on _top_ of you. I never figured I’d get here and have to play pick-up sticks.”

 

“Can we save the arguing for later?” Takeru said. “I’m pretty sure we don’t have long before this comes down you know, and I’d rather we _didn’t_ end up underneath it.”

 

“Let me take a look,” came Tailmon’s voice. “I can get up there without disturbing any of it.”

 

There was a short silence save for the light pattering of Tailmon’s feet as she climbed to whatever vantage point she had spotted. Takeru saw a flash of pale movement in that direction, and two pale eyes reflecting the scant light.

 

“I would like to make it clear at this stage that making any plans for escape which involve feats of athleticism or agility on our part would be ill-advised. Neither of us are in a position where we could perform such acts.” That was Koushiro again.

 

“Well I can see _that_ ,” said Tailmon. “Hmm. It’s too small a building for MetalGreymon, and you’re both too heavy for me to lift. If Patamon could digivolve into Angemon he could fit, but he can barely fly as it is.”

 

Something creaked ominously from where she was speaking. Takeru winced.

 

“Okay, and it’s not going to be possible for me to get any closer. I think you’re going to have to go out the way you came in.”

 

“I suspected you would say as much,” Koushiro said. Takeru could hear the resignation in his voice.

 

“Just one problem there,” said Taichi. “How exactly is that going to work?”

 

Koushiro sighed. “Agumon will need to evolve into MetalGreymon again, and you’ll need to find either a rope or something which serves the same function. Fly above the building and lower it down, and we can hold on while you pull us clear.”

 

“Koushiro, I thought you were smart. That’s about the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard!” Taichi replied. “That’s… that’s the kind of idea-”

 

“-that _you_ would suggest?” Koushiro snapped. “I agree entirely. Unfortunately, we lack the time to come up with a viable alternative.”

 

“Uh, guys, maybe we should just get on with it.” Takeru said. “At this rate we won’t need a plan because it will have collapsed anyway.”

 

As if to underline his point, something clattered to the ground nearby. He closed his eyes a moment, then looked over to where Tailmon was standing. The lamp-like eyes had gone.

 

From underneath, he could hear Taichi moving around. The light of the torch cast long shadows everywhere. It was maddening. He wanted to _move_. His whole body was stiff with aches and stillness, and he couldn’t even see what was going on. Trying to work it out by what he could hear was beginning to drive him to distraction.

 

“Here.” Tailmon’s voice came from the ground. “This was piled up near the wall. There should be enough to reach into the hole in the roof.”

 

“Great!” said Taichi. “Just hold on you two. MetalGreymon is waiting outside. We’ll have you down in no time. Well, after we get you up of course.”

 

Koushiro groaned. “Can you just get on with it Taichi?”

 

It took several attempts for them both to grab what turned out to be a thick cable. Intially, Taichi had only let down one end of it, at which point Koushiro had called up that if they went one at a time there was a strong chance of things collapsing with one of them still stuck. Then they’d had the problem of trying to reach the cables while remaining as still as possible. Takeru had found it simple enough to wrap the cable around his arm a few times and get a firm grip. Koushiro had struggled, and then reluctantly conceded that his arm was too painful to really use. In the end, Tailmon slid down and tied a loop around his chest, then climbed back up and leapt onto the roof.

 

“Much as I know it’s tempting, don’t go up too fast,” Koushiro called. “The last thing we need is to hit what’s left of the roof on our way out.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Taichi replied. “I’m not stupid, you know.”

 

Takeru closed his eyes as he felt the cable start to move. He regretted wrapping it around his arm almost instantly. It might have been a safer bet than trying to move enough to wrap it around his body, but it had the rather obvious drawback of pressing on the burns on his arm.

 

The moment he started to move upwards, he felt the wooden spar beneath him shift. He drew his legs up, trying to get himself upright as quickly as possible, and opened his eyes again. He didn’t want to get caught on anything that might fall.

 

They were lucky, really. Both he and Koushiro were almost clear before the whole lot gave way. And it only did so due to their bracing themselves against the uppermost bits of wood to avoid swinging into one another. He and Koushiro looked at each other as the worst of the racket subsided, shuddering. As his feet finally touched solid ground, he could have wept with relief. Beside him Koushiro sank to his knees, cradling his left arm.

 

MetalGreymon landed a short distance away, de-digivolving almost instantly. Taichi ran over, but was beaten to Takeru by Patamon. For a minute he simply clung to his partner, not speaking.

 

“We should get inside one of these buildings,” Tailmon said after a moment. “With all the noise that made, I wouldn’t be surprised if another one of those birds comes along to investigate.”

 

“One of them’s a waiting room,” Takeru said. “It’ll have somewhere to sit, at least.”

 

Taichi nodded. “We can get you two patched up in there,” he said, and looked at Koushiro, frowning. “Okay, you win. It _was_ a good idea to bring the first aid kit. But I still reckon half the other stuff you made me take is junk.”

 


	18. Chapter 18

The main station building was a lot more cheerful with six of them than it had been with two. That was partly helped by the torch Taichi had pulled out of the rucksack on his back. After clearing a space on the floor - and waiting for the dust thrown up by moving the furniture to clear - they set it upright in the centre. The long shadows cast by the light were offset by the brightness of the starlight, which could still be seen through the windows. Takeru wondered if this world ever got truly dark.

Patamon settled into his lap and began to doze again. He switched off to everything else for a few minutes, letting his head droop. Without the press of danger, the reality of the situation was starting to catch up with him. It was good to take a few minutes to reassure himself of the fact he was on solid ground. He certainly didn’t plan on taking to the air again any time soon.

A yelp of pain from Koushiro roused Takeru from his thoughts. He looked up sharply - Taichi was inspecting the other boy’s arm. Koushiro looked as pale as he had ever seen him, although he had to admit it was a little hard to judge by the light of the torch.

“It’s fine, really,” Koushiro was saying. “Just sore.”

“Bullshit,” Taichi replied. “I’ve seen “just fine” plenty of times in the soccer team and it doesn’t come with the look you had on your face just then. We’re putting that in a sling until you get back and someone can take a proper look at it.”

“Broken?” Takeru asked. This was bad. As sore as he was, at least everything still worked. Broken bones would be a serious complication all the while they were trapped here.

Koushiro shook his head. “I can move everything. I made sure of that while we were stuck. Most likely it’s just some muscular damage.”

Taichi sighed. “Which doesn’t mean less serious, you know. Jeez, how can you be so smart the rest of the time and not know this stuff? We’ll have to hope it’s a sprain or something for now. It’s not like we can really do much else. Besides, you were the one so insistent on bringing the first aid kit. You aren’t seriously gonna complain that I’m using it, are you?”

Koushiro didn’t say anything to that. Takeru could see the resignation on his face as Taichi pulled out some gauze bandage from the backpack.

“You should get some rest after you’re finished,” Tailmon said. “It will be light in a few hours, and we’ll be able to get moving.”

“Where to?” Takeru asked. “I mean, we don’t know where Hikari or Yamato are, and we don’t have any way to get back home, either.”

“Not to mention, I don’t think I can digivolve right now,” Agumon said, eyeing the bag of food. “I’m too worn out.”

Tailmon tapped her foot impatiently. “That’s why you should be resting. There’s plenty of benches here; try to sleep.”

Takeru looked around the room, eyeing up the three shadowy doorways into the rest of the building. One of them had been an office. He hadn’t checked out the others.

“I think we should explore this place a little when it gets light,” he said. “Before we head out. I was too tired to do a proper job of it before, and when I woke up it was dark. There might be a clue as to who used to use this station. Maybe it could lead us to whoever took Hikari.”

“I agree,” Koushiro said, looking up. “There’s a strong chance of finding a map of this world - or part of it at least - somewhere around this building. At the very least there should be some sort of map of the railway network. We- No, Taichi, I am not having you put my arm in a sling. We’re in a potentially hostile environment! I need full mobility!”

Taichi had pulled a distinctive triangular piece of material from the rucksack. At Koushiro’s remark, he gritted his teeth, and looked over at Takeru.

“Back me up on this, will ya?” he asked. As Takeru nodded, Taichi turned back to Koushiro and carried on talking, raising his voice as he spoke.

“Look. The fact that this is a dangerous place makes it _more_ important to take care of your arm properly,” he said, clenching the sling in his fist. His eyes had narrowed. “And you have to keep it elevated, okay? Because if it does turn out to be broken, and you keep moving it, you’re only gonna make it worse. Or do you want me to call Jou and get him to tell you the same damn thing before you’ll actually _listen to me_!”

There was silence. By the time Taichi had finished his rant he’d been yelling. Takeru felt distinctly uncomfortable. He’d never seen Taichi look so angry at Koushiro. The last time he’d heard him shout like that, it had been at his own brother, shortly before Yamato had ventured off on his own in the Digital world. It wasn’t exactly a good memory.

Koushiro, however, didn’t appear too worried. He had simply raised his eyebrows as Taichi raised his voice.

“Actually, now that you mention it, we should contact Jou anyway,” the redhead remarked. He spoke lightly, as though they were sat safe at home, without a care. “No doubt the others will be concerned about our situation. Takeru sent a message to confirm we were alive, but we couldn’t do much more than that at the time.”

Without waiting for Taichi to reply, Takeru scrabbled to fish his D-Terminal from his pocket. No doubt his mother would be worried out of her mind. Ignoring the protests from a body which ached with every movement of his shoulders, he tapped a quick message to Jou. Miyako _did_ have an unerring tendency towards panic, after all.

“Well, I’ve said that we’re both safe for now,” he said, looking up at the pair of them. “Anything else I should add?”

“Yeah,” Taichi said, clenching the fabric in his hand tightly enough that his knuckles turned almost white. “Tell them that-”

“-enough!” Koushiro snapped, making Takeru jump. The redhead had seemed so calm a moment ago. “Have you considered that informing them of our injuries will only make things worse? The situation bad enough as it is. I understand that you’re concerned, Taichi, but do you really think that making everyone else more worried than they are already is going to help? If you start blithely announcing that we’re injured and in need of medical treatment, you’re going to cause a panic. And based on what happened earlier that is something we need to prevent at all costs.”

“What are you talking about?” Taichi asked, some of the anger fading from his voice.

Koushiro sighed, and gingerly rested his bandaged hand in his lap. “I’ve been thinking about what happened. How Takeru and I ended up back here, despite the fact that we have been assuming that travel between the two worlds could only occur at midday and midnight.”

“You worked it out?” Takeru put down the D-Terminal and eased Patamon onto a different portion of his lap.

“I don’t have sufficient evidence to be certain yet, but I think I might have an explanation,” Koushiro replied. He looked uneasy. “We know that so far, while in this world, a high level of fear is sufficient to trigger a return to the real world. Now consider your emotions immediately prior to our appearance here, Takeru. The only logical explanation for what happened is that this… this process of transferal is something which can work both ways.”

Taichi sat back heavily, then frowned. “Wait a minute. What about Sora? When I talked to her on the phone earlier, she was freaking out. And then we know that she ended up in this place too, after that. Well, if being afraid takes you here, why didn’t she go then?”

“I did say that it was only a potential solution, you know,” Koushiro replied. “But, it’s possible that you need to visit this world first - to make an initial connection. Like… like installing a driver for computer software. Simply putting the disc into the computer is not sufficient - it won’t work until after the drivers are installed. After that though, there’s no need to install anything when the disc is inserted again because the computer already recognises it.”

Takeru found his mouth twisting into a half smile, despite everything. “You’re trying to explain something to Taichi by talking about _computers_? Did you crack your head on the way down too?” he quipped.

Taichi looked as though he was about to protest when Tailmon strode purposefully in front of him.

“We need to _rest_ , remember? If this world is similar to our own the sun will rise in a few hours and then we need to start searching.”

It was like watching the air rush out of a balloon. Taichi deflated: his irritation and energy both seemed to wilt away before their eyes.

Takeru felt a knot in his stomach - Hikari and Yamato were out there somewhere, in who knew what kind of state, and he’d been _smiling_. How could he be cheerful when his brother and his best friend were in danger? He felt like a traitor. To judge from Taichi’s face, he wasn’t alone.

He sank back into the bench, scarcely noticing the protests from his aching body. They _had_ to find them. He couldn’t conceive of a future in which Yamato or Hikari weren’t around - and that had to mean they were okay, didn’t it? Surely he would know if something had happened to either of them. He’d be able to tell; to feel it in his gut. And until they found them, he’d just have to cling to that belief. To keep on hoping that everything would be fine somehow. Things had always worked themselves out somehow before. This time couldn’t be any different…could it?

 

* * *

 

  _Sunday, 2:45pm_

Miyako was not freaking out.

Nope. Absolutely no freaking out going on. None at all. In fact, the mere suggestion that she might be panicking was so far from the truth as to be completely laughable.

After all, she saw people vanish all the time, right? It was pretty much par for course among the Chosen Children. Practically routine. So there was no reason at all for it to be completely terrifying when her friends quite literally disappeared in a puff of smoke.

And really, the reappearing amid screams of terror wasn’t so bad. If she tried hard, she could even think about something which _wasn’t_ the horrific expression that had been on infamously-unflappable-Koushiro’s face when he’d returned a couple of hours ago. Or the shuddering wreck that Takeru had turned into. Or Taichi’s raging, helpless fury when Tailmon had returned without his sister. Or the leaden dread in Jou’s voice as she had told him there was every chance he’d be next. Or…

Okay. So Miyako was freaking out. She felt pretty damn justified though.

The worst part about it all was that despite the fact Jou was the calm, level-headed face of someone both older and, frankly, _calmer_ about all this, everyone who was left in the real world was now looking to _her_ for answers. Jou had fielded most of the messages from the strange nightmare world, that was true. But Daisuke, Sora, and both Mrs Yagami and Mrs Takaishi kept wanting to know how things were going. What Gennai had said. If she had made any progress translating the strange document that Gennai had found.

She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scream with frustration, cry with fear, or both. Well. On second thought, “both” sounded a pretty good plan. One which she nevertheless held off. Like hell was she going to snap before Daisuke did. This was a matter of _pride_.

What she really wanted, more than anything, was to have Poromon sat beside her. He was always a calming presence. But the priority had been to fetch the partners of the original Chosen Children, as they were the ones apparently at risk. And she didn’t want to make things worse by asking favours while two of them were missing, three of them were stranded, and the other three faced a countdown until it was their turn. Besides. She was too busy pulling her hair out trying to understand Koushiro’s notes to think to ask.

She understood computers, sure. She’d worked with Koushiro on some projects relating to the Digital world, too. But she wasn’t Koushiro. She wasn’t an expert on Digicode. And she _really_ hadn’t made any progress at all. Not least because, computer genius or not, Koushiro had one of the most utterly incomprehensible and unfriendly approaches to data storage she had ever seen. His laptop was a labyrinth of passwords, shortcuts and hidden folders - the contents of which were usually cryptic at best, and cyphered at worst. She suspected he did it on purpose, to prevent people hacking into his files. That much was understandable, but it was no help now when he was stuck in the very world he had been trying to make sense of, and _she_ had been left to pick up the pieces.

What made things even _worse_ \- if things could be worse than five of the eight original Chosen being trapped in an unknown world with no safe way home - was the fact that she couldn’t even send Koushiro a message and ask for some advice. Takeru had told Jou that they were both alive, but that they were trapped, and needed Taichi to rescue them. Just what would happen if Taichi didn’t make it in time had not been elaborated on. Her fertile imagination had been left to envisage the worst, and it sure as anything wasn’t pretty.

“Any luck?” Jou asked, sitting beside her on the sofa. They had moved out of Taichi’s bedroom to leave space for anyone returning to materialise. If by some miracle they all came back without help, it was going to get rather crowded in there.

“Nothing,” Miyako said. “I don’t even know how he can _work_ like this. We’re just lucky he told me how to navigate his password system when he came back the first time, because otherwise I’d be completely shut out. If the laptop idles for more than thirty seconds it locks and requires a password. If I open a new file, it’s password protected. If I look for a file he’s referenced, it’s hidden somewhere in a maze of folders and shortcuts, and almost every file I _do_ find is at least partly written in a cypher. I’ve never seen anything so ridiculous in my _life_.”

Jou sighed. “He always did have a tendency towards paranoia.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I spend a lot of time online. I’ve seen paranoia. This? This is more than your regular tinfoil hat tendencies. He’s made this laptop - which is so old it shouldn’t even _work_ any more, by the way - more secure than most government intelligence sites. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’m going to be able to do this on my own. Not in the next ten years, at least.”

Daisuke looked over from the dining area. “So go get Ken already. I don’t get why no one’s called him before this _anyway_. I mean, Mimi said she’s bringing Iori over, right? How come he’s the only one left out of this?”

“Iori’s only involved because Mimi needed a gate,” Miyako pointed out. “And he lives in the same apartment building as Takeru, so he offered to stop in and grab some of Takeru’s clothes, seeing as his family have a spare key. It wasn’t as though we thought anyone was going to be vanishing for a good while.”

“I still reckon this is a team effort. And it’s not right to shut Ken out of this. Especially seeing as he could help.”

“We’re not shutting him out,” Jou said. “It’s more that things have escalated a lot faster than anyone was expecting. And whatever connection this has to us, it’s _not_ the Digital world. I spoke to him yesterday, and he hasn’t been having the same nightmares that the others have. There was no need to drag him all the way over here just to sit and do nothing. Even Mimi wouldn’t need to be here if she weren’t bringing Gomamon and Tentomon with her.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Speak of the devil,” Miyako said. “I dare say that’s her now.”

She was about to set the laptop aside when Mrs Yagami emerged from Hikari’s room and headed towards the door, eyes red from crying. Miyako winced. It was understandable for the woman to be shocked and upset by what was happening, but there was no denying that some of the tension she felt was the pressure of her friends’ parents expecting her to somehow bring their children home.

Mimi was like a breath of fresh air. There was something about her that just radiated confidence and goodwill. To guess, Miyako would have said that the older girl hadn’t even stopped to consider the possibility that something could go wrong. As Jou sat with the digimon, explaining everything they knew, Mimi stood in the kitchen area with the adults and somehow managed to bring a _smile_ to their faces. A small one, to be sure, but a smile nonetheless.

“Right,” Daisuke said, slumping onto the sofa beside Miyako and making her jump. “Ken’s heading to the subway now. He’ll be here soon as he can.”

For a moment she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved about getting help, or irritated that she wasn’t able to solve this by herself. She _hated_ the feeling that she couldn’t do something, and a small, stubborn part of her wanted to demand that everyone back off and leave her to it. She squashed that voice hard. There were very probably lives at stake here. This was no time to play the hero - especially when she’d already admitted that she was making no headway, and Gennai had stopped replying to her emails while he “looked for information”. There was no telling how long _that_ would take.

She looked up from the laptop, and frowned. All the Chosen Children left in the real world barring Sora would shortly be gathered in this apartment. Admittedly there was a strong chance that two of them and their partners would be disappearing in, oh, about nine hours or so. But that still left an awful lot of people in what was, frankly, not a very large space. And it wouldn’t be too much longer before concerned parents started to call and ask where their children were. Iori would go home. Daisuke _could_ go home, although actually convincing him to would be a different matter. Jou and Mimi would need to stay where someone could watch them.

To top it off, it was _Sunday_. That meant school the following morning. Even if she were still awake enough to want to go in, how could she even think of abandoning everyone that way? They hadn’t had to deal with anything like this before. Their encounters with the Digital world had always slotted _around_ school somehow. This wasn’t something they were going to be able to hide, and that fact scared her.

Jou’s phone bleeped. Immediately all eyes turned to him, as he fumbled to open the message.

“It’s Takeru,” he said. “He says that Taichi made it and they’re all safe for now.”

“For now?” Mrs Yagami asked, her voice quavering.

Mimi smiled, and clasped her hand. “He’s just being cautious, I’m sure,” she said. “If they’re all together then they have three digimon to help them. Agumon, Patamon, and Tailmon aren’t going to let anything happen to them. I’m sure of it.”

Miyako took in Mimi’s sincere expression. She honestly believed what she was saying. She _had_ to. Mimi was an open book - one whose blind faith in everything being fine Miyako envied.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

He hadn't really planned to sleep. After all, it had only been a few hours since he'd woken up. It was only when Tailmon roused him and he opened his eyes to the familiar glare of too-bright daylight that he realised how exhausted he had really been.

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Tailmon shrugged. "It's a little after dawn. You'll need to look at your D3 or your D-Terminal if you want something more specific though. Taichi and Koushiro are asleep still. They were up a little longer than you, talking."

Takeru frowned, slowly easing himself into an upright position and fishing his D-Terminal from his pocket. Patamon lay nearby, his face more relaxed than it had been the day before. That was a relief at least - his partner seemed to be recovering well from his exhaustion.

"What were they talking about?" he asked Tailmon, biting back a yelp as he knocked one of his new bruises. The others lay on benches nearby. Agumon was curled up on the floor beside Taichi. He flipped the front of the Terminal open, glancing at the numbers.  _4:57pm._

Tailmon sighed. "More theories about what this place is and where Hikari and Yamato might be. Nothing they couldn't talk about while walking."

Takeru nodded. "Well, I'll make a start looking for some information here while you wake them. There have to be some clues around here somewhere."

He left Patamon to rest on the bench, and made his way stiffly to one of the rooms he had been too tired to explore when he had arrived at the station. The doorway led to the other half of the ticket office - the shuttered window filled the wall between it and the main room, with a counter and chairs alongside it. A thick layer of dust coated everything, and one of the chairs had been knocked over at some point, but otherwise the room looked untouched. One wall was dominated by a board painted into a grid, with columns of words written in some unintelligible script. Takeru wondered if Koushiro would recognise it, and leant back out into the main room.

He'd heard Tailmon telling the others to wake up, so wasn't surprised to see them both moving around. There was something about the small champion which discouraged arguments even when she  _wasn't_  wound tight with worry about Hikari. Even Agumon and Patamon seemed to be awake, although he was relieved to see that his partner was still sitting on the bench. Koushiro looked as stiff and sore as Takeru felt. He held his left arm awkwardly, too; it was clearly causing him a lot of pain. That was a complication they really didn't need.

They had always managed to avoid serious injury in the digital world - despite getting into more dangerous situations than they could count. Koushiro had theorised that being turned into data made them more resilient - something which they'd all had cause to be grateful for more than once. This world offered no such comforts. Takeru shuddered. If past adventures and his current injuries were anything to go by, they would be lucky to make it home unscathed. They needed to find answers fast.

Taichi looked up. "Find anything?" he asked.

Takeru shrugged. "There's some writing on the wall in here, but I can't read it," he said. "There's not much else in here. I'll have a look and see if there's anything useful in the cabinets, but if we can't understand the language, I'm not sure how much it will help."

"What we need is a map," Koushiro said. "This is a train station. There has to be something like that around here, even if it's just a map of the rail network. There's no point going anywhere until we find one - we'll just be lost in the woods."

Taichi nodded. "I hate to say it, but he's right. We don't even know if this is the same forest you and Hikari were in before, Tailmon, and as for Yamato…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

"I saw what might have been the city when I was… in the air," Takeru said. He swallowed. The thought of going that high again made him feel slightly queasy. "And if we can't find a map, we can make our own. Since when did we have a map our first few days in the Digital world, anyway? We can't just give up because we don't know where we are. Yamato and Hikari  _need_  us."

Koushiro sighed. "We kept going that first few days because we didn't have a choice, Takeru," he said. "And because for all we knew there could have been help in any direction. We would never have made it anywhere on Server without the map Gennai gave us."

"He has got a point though," Taichi said. "This time we can fly up and get a good feel for the place. We didn't have that option with the Digital world. Besides. Like hell am I gonna sit here while they're out there and need our help."

"Well I'm not going to wait here forever," Tailmon said. "Hikari's in trouble, and I'm not going to let anything stop me finding her. With or without you, I'll keep looking."

"I didn't say we should give up," Koushiro said, holding his right hand out in protest. "Just that we should find - or make - a map before we go. The more we know about this world, the better prepared we'll be."

"I don't think I could digivolve right now," Patamon said. Everyone turned to look at him.

"You don't have to," Takeru said, determined to avoid any discussion of flight. "You need to rest still, and save your strength. I can remember where everything is, if it comes to that."

In the end, it didn't. The third door lead to what appeared to be a staff room; it had a small wood stove in one corner, and a counter with cups laid out for drinks which would never be served. The map was mounted in a simple frame on the wall. Taichi wasted no time in pulling it apart and retrieving the paper inside. He brought it back into the waiting room and spread it out on the floor.

"So where are we, Takeru? It was too dark when I got here for me to be sure."

The map was laid out with the coastline running north to south. Takeru frowned. It was clearly a rather ornamental map, with lots of embellishments. Lines of undecipherable text marked out what were presumably the names of landmarks, and the area he supposed to be the forest was criss-crossed with a series of overlapping lines, one red, one grey. After a few moments he found a place where two red lines merged into one.

"Here. It has to be. I saw this island-" he pointed it out on the map "-while I was up in the air. This line has to be the railway."

Koushiro nodded. "It would make sense for it to be marked clearly. Does the rest of the terrain match what you saw?"

Takeru closed his eyes. It was stupid, how hard it had become to picture himself up in the air. How many times had he flown that high or higher on Pegasusmon? And now, even the memory of the ground laid out like a tapestry beneath him made him feel lightheaded. He rubbed his eyes, and nodded.

"This is the mountain range," he said, pointing to a series of decorative peaks drawn in another vertical line. "And look. This is where I saw a grey area on the horizon. I saw…" He swallowed. "There were lights in that direction earlier, while it was dark. It could be the city where Yamato is."

Taichi frowned. "It might be, Takeru. But we can't really be sure. I mean, didn't Yamato say that everything there was abandoned? Why would there be lights if there was no one around?"

"Well,  _something's_  there. We know that because they've  _got my brother_!" Takeru snapped.

"And someone around here has my  _sister_  too!" Taichi replied, just as hotly. "We're not going to find either of them by arguing over who we look for first. But just think about the fact that at least Yamato has Gabumon with him. Hikari's completely alone in this stinking place, and by the looks of this map, she could have been caught in the same forest where we are now. The least we should do is head for those mountains and see if Tailmon recognises them."

Takeru gritted his teeth, but nodded. He looked down as Koushiro reached out and rested an unbandaged hand on his shoulder.

"We're going to find them both, Takeru," he said, as Taichi rolled the map and tucked it into his backpack. "Wherever they are, we'll track them down. They'll be okay."

* * *

_Sunday, 6:45pm_

The hours had merged into one unending expanse of time. Boredom had come and gone in fits, interspersed by murmured conversations with Gabumon. Much as guilt plagued him, he couldn't help but be grateful that his partner had been sucked into this hellhole with him. He wasn't sure how he would have held up had he been imprisoned alone.

Something had changed, though. Over the last hour or so - by his reckoning at least - he had become aware of a sort of background murmur, underlying the silence. Was that the sound of people moving and talking somewhere out of sight?

"Do you think it's morning now, Yamato?"

He looked over at his partner, then back out through the bars of the door at the narrow slice of the corridor which was visible.

"I don't know. It could be though. Maybe someone will finally come and explain what the hell we did that was so wrong."

Sighing, he walked back over to Gabumon and sat down.

"If I could just get the others a  _message_ ," he said, for probably fiftieth time since he'd woken. "I mean, what must they be thinking right now?"

Gabumon rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Yamato. I'm sure they'll understand when you have a chance to explain everything."

He looked at his partner, trying to keep his face as expressionless as possible. He didn't want to acknowledge his fear that they might not be given a chance to explain at all. Their captors hadn't exactly been keen to listen to them thus far.

At last he heard the sound of footsteps. He stiffened, then scrambled to his feet, keeping a watchful eye on the door. When Gabumon moved to stand between him and the entrance to the cell, he shook his head.

"Whatever this place is, they're more worried about you than me," he said softly. "Don't make yourself a target."

Gabumon nodded, although he looked troubled. Yamato gritted his teeth. It was bad enough being trapped here with no way to tell the others he was safe. The fact that his partner felt so helpless to protect him - and he knew without asking that Gabumon did - weighed on him heavily. If he ever got out of here, he was going to make sure these people knew how angry he was.

The footsteps stopped outside the door to the cell, accompanied by a metallic clinking. He stiffened. That didn't sound good. Well, he'd be damned if he was going to let them think he was afraid. He could just about make out a face on the far side of the bars, although the light wasn't good. Time to put on a brave face then.

"You'd best be standing clear of the door in there, prisoner," said a gruff male voice. "Don't try any funny business when we open up."

Yamato glanced down at Gabumon.  _Prisoner_  as in only one person? Had they forgotten they'd captured the two of them?

The door swung outwards, to reveal two guards. One held what looked like a musket in his hands, while the other - the guard who had unlocked the cell - had a set of manacles hung over one arm.  _Definitely not good_ , Yamato thought. Without really thinking about it, he found himself shifting his weight so he stood more in front of his partner.

"Don't move," the guard with the keys said. "Downstairs want a word with you, so I suggest you don't put up a fuss."

"And if your…  _creature_  makes one wrong move, I will fire," said the guard with the musket. "Make no mistake there."

Yamato nodded slowly. He didn't like the sound of "Downstairs", but he wasn't about to risk questioning the two men.

"Now hold out your arms," the guard with the keys said, walking into the cell. "And mind your beast stays back."

Yamato gritted his teeth, biting back the temptation to remind these men that Gabumon was his  _friend_. It only occurred to him as the metal closed around his wrists that there were none for his partner.

"Wait," he said. "You're not taking both of us?"

The man with the gun snorted. "What would we want to do that for?"

"Yamato, it's okay," Gabumon said quickly. "I'll be fine here."

The two men stared at him, eyes wide.

"Wait, that thing  _talks_? For real? And here I thought Shichiro were drinking on duty."

Yamato scowled at them both. "Of course he talks. I already told you people, he's not a monster."

His captor grabbed the chain in the centre of the manacles and tugged him towards the door.

"Yeah, well, you can see what them Downstairs say about that. We're just here to escort you safely."

He nearly tripped. By the time he'd regained his balance he was outside the cell, and the second man had swung the door closed again.

"Gabumon!"

A hard cuff to the side of his head silenced him. It still ached from the day before. Grimacing, he stared at his hands, telling himself over and over that his partner would be fine. That they'd get out of this situation somehow. Whoever these people downstairs were, he just had to reason with them. Which meant  _not_  fighting the two guards as he was led along.

Worry knotted itself in his stomach, mixing with pangs of hunger. Anger threaded its way among the two. Wild fantasies of subduing the guards and finding his digivice occupied his mind as they walked through the room where he had been stripped of his possessions.

The guards escorted him down a long, spiralling stairwell. Now and then it would level out a little, where a dark wooden door opened onto it. The lights were electric but dim, even in this world, and his attention shifted to making sure he didn't lose his footing. After passing two doors, they exited the stairwell, emerging onto a wide, somewhat brighter passage, which looked no more inviting. It was bare of any decoration - the lights were long, cylindrical bulbs suspended parallel to the ceiling, with no casing. He didn't like to think about how far underground they had to be by now.

They came to an abrupt halt outside a door. The guard in front of him cleared his throat and rapped twice on the wood.

"Sergeant Garnett reporting with the prisoner, my Lord."

The door opened inwards after a few seconds, and the man who was not Sergeant Garnett prodded Yamato in the back with what was presumably the musket. He didn't need any more encouragement.

Whatever it was that he'd been expecting inside, the reality was not it. The room was a radical shift from the bland corridor. What looked like an antique desk occupied a fair portion of the interior space, with cabinets lining two of the walls. As he looked around he spotted a man in a tunic stood by the door, who closed it as they entered the room.

The sergeant bowed to the man seated behind the desk, who was reading paperwork of some sort. Yamato stared at him, eyebrows raised. What the hell kind of place was this?

The guards wore what was clearly a military uniform; practical to the last stitch. This man did not - he wore instead a high-necked, dark red shirt, with golden embroideries on the collars. His hair was long, and tumbled loosely about his shoulders. Even his face didn't seem to fit. He looked more like… like the sort face which tended to stare down from clothing or aftershave adverts. Hell, the kind of face which stared out of movie posters, like those period romances Sora had enjoyed for a while. The ones she had made him promise to never tell the others about.

And he was  _bored_. Bored enough that he hadn't even bothered to look up as they entered the room. That he didn't so much as flinch when the sergeant barked an order at Yamato, telling him to kneel. Nor did the man react when Yamato refused, only to be kicked in the crook of his knees again, sending him to the ground with a yell.

As a musician, Yamato knew the importance of timing. How to use it to increase stage presence, How to hold the attention of a crowd, and judge when the moment was right to speak. Apparently, whoever this man was, he had the same skill. The silence stretched out just long enough before the man looked up, fixing Yamato with a cold, piercing stare before turning his attention to the sergeant.

Oh, this guy was good. He'd  _practised_  that look. Without saying a word, he'd as good as told Yamato that he was an insect. Not even worth talking to - despite the fact that he'd been hauled down here for that exact purpose.

Without knowing why, Yamato suddenly felt acutely aware of how filthy he must look. How he was covered in dust and dirt; how the bruises and scratches from the last few days mottled his skin. How petty and insignificant it made him seem. How petty and insignificant he  _was_.

" _This_  is the trespasser? He is a  _boy_." Scorn dripped off of every word.

"Aye, my Lord," said the sergeant. "Found within the city in the company of a beast of some sort. Uhh… The beast speaks, my Lord."

Something shifted, and Yamato felt the crushing sense of worthlessness fade.

"Who are you?" the man asked sharply.

Yamato blinked, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. It was as though something had been seeping into his head.

"Ishida Yamato," he replied, keeping his head down. He didn't want to look into those eyes again if he could help it.

"I don't need your name, boy, I need to know who you  _are_. Where you came from. What your purpose is in the City above, and what your companion is. I want  _answers_. And if you are not willing to tell me, I shall have to get those answers another way."

Yamato jerked his head up, horrified. Surely they weren't talking about  _torture_? He could feel the tight, sharp knot of fear in his gut, and fought to quash it. He couldn't risk going back to the real world now - Gabumon was still in the prison cell, all alone. Who knew what these people would do to his partner if he weren't there to co-operate. They thought he was a  _monster_.

"I just woke up here," he said at last, fighting to keep voice and thoughts level. Something about the atmosphere in this room wasn't helping. It was as though the very air wanted him unsettled. "I don't even know where this place is. Look, all I want is to go home, with my partner. Whatever it is you think we've done, we haven't."

He didn't blink, Yamato realised. Whoever this man was, he wasn't blinking. Just staring, relentlessly, with such an intense focus that there was no chance of his looking away. He couldn't move - it was as though that gaze had frozen him in place.

"And where is home?" The man's lips moved, but the words travelled straight into his mind, bypassing his ears.

Something inside him resisted the intrusion into his thoughts, and failed. The rest of the room might as well have disappeared - all he could see were two eyes in front of him, dark and unblinking. The voice in his head told him to speak.

"Odaiba," he said. Part of him was aware of the strange monotone he spoke in, and started to worry. "In Japan. I am one of the Chosen Children, and my companion is Gabumon, a digimon created to be my partner. I have no purpose in this city-"

"LIES!" the man barked, slamming his fist onto the desk.

Yamato flinched, feeling his head clear once more. The knot of fear which he'd started to forget returned with full force. What had that man  _done_  to him? It was like… like Puppetmon, only with his mind instead of his body. He shuddered. The memory made him feel ill. He closed his eyes, and turned away from the desk.

"I want the truth,  _Ishida Yamato._ " There was something about that voice. It wasn't right. Wasn't natural, somehow.

"I'm  _telling_  the truth," he said, keeping his eyes tightly closed. There was no way he was going to chance getting caught in that gaze again. "I don't know why I'm here."

Silence. It stretched out in his self-imposed darkness, turning minutes into hours. He became acutely aware of the aches in his knees and head. Of the weight of the manacles, and how the edge of the metal bit into his wrists. Discomfort mounted but he didn't dare move. Nor did he open his eyes, although his self-imposed blindness contributed to the fact he had never felt more vulnerable in his life.

"Do you know who I am, Ishida Yamato from Odaiba?" The words cut through the silence like a knife; smooth and silky and deadly. Yamato shook his head rather than answer.

"I am Lord Cahir, responsible for overseeing the security of the city. I report directly to their Graces, and I happen to dislike anomalies. You are one such anomaly, and we can ill afford to be concerned with you at this time."

Reflexes took over and his eyes opened, wide. It took all his willpower to keep his head turned safely away. What were they planning on doing to him? What about Gabumon? There had to be a way out of this situation, somehow. He just had to think, to force himself to focus on something he could tell these people to make them believe him. To stop the rising tide of panic and fear before it overwhelmed him.

Wood scraped on stone. Cloth rustled. A gloved hand gripped his jaw tightly, turning his face upwards. Before he could react, Cahir's dark eyes bore into him - seizing control of his mind. A cry of protest died on his lips as his chest locked in place; his frantic thoughts faded to nothing, leaving only a vague sense of unease in their wake. The pressure on his jaw eased, unnecessary now that he could no longer move.

"Now. Tell me how you came to be in this city." Once more, Cahir's voice seemed to speak directly into his head.

"I was brought here in my sleep," he said. Again, part of him was aware that this was wrong - that his voice was flat and leaden. That he hadn't wanted to answer  _anyway_. "I woke outside the city, and Koushiro suggested I travel here to find information about this world."

"And who is this Koushiro?"

Something inside him fought and failed to prevent his answer. "Koushiro is my friend. Another of the Chosen Children, who bears the crest of Knowledge."

"Now. Tell me how many of these Chosen Children there are. How many crests."

"Twelve Chosen. Nine Crests." There was a pressure building in his head. An intangible grip, slowly squeezing his skull. It spread to an ache in his temples. Dimly, he was aware that something strange was going on, but it was impossible to work out more than that. No sooner had he grasped a thought than it faded out of reach.

"And which is your crest, if you have one."

No. Deep down he was sure this was wrong. He couldn't-

"I bear the crest of Friendship." Was that even his own voice any more? It was dead and flat, the leaden tones in stark contrast with the screaming protests buried somewhere within him. Instincts fought for recognition, flickering and dying in the face of the numbing gaze he was caught in. The pain in his head grew-

-and stopped sharply, as Cahir looked away.

Yamato gasped in shock as he regained control of his mind. Each and every word he'd spoken hung suddenly before him, branding him a traitor. "What did you do to me?" he cried.

Cahir looked down at him, scorn etched on his face. "I got my answers," he replied. "I do believe you were warned."

He felt sick. There was a pure horror to the thought that this man had, quite calmly and without any apparent concern, reached into Yamato's mind and plucked out whatever information he wanted. That he'd been unable to offer even a token resistance. For the first time since this nightmare had begun, he was glad not to know where the others were. At least this way he  _couldn't_ betray them any further than he already had.

"I do have one more question," Cahir said, walking around his desk and taking a seat. "And I am sure you will be more co-operative this time. Now. Would you care to tell me what manner of device these are?"

Yamato looked up, and felt his heart sink. In his hands, Cahir held his phone and digivice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Yamato's section here was one of those scenes which basically wrote itself, neatly screwing up all my plans in the process. This was not meant to happen! Originally the interrogation was going to be a lot more... mundane, really. Another classic example of characters and stories basically mocking the writer for trying to be organised. This is one of the reasons I don't invest in detailed story plans - they always change as I go. (For me at least - I know other people who are the exact opposite.)
> 
> Feedback is very welcome, as always!


	20. Chapter 20

Yamato hung his head. It was  _partly_  a reflection of his feelings, but more importantly, it gave him a moment to think of a way that he could answer. He didn't want these people - especially not the likes of Cahir - knowing that there were three more Chosen Children potentially in the world. The thought of them getting their hands on Takeru made his blood run cold. With any luck his brother - and Taichi and Hikari for that matter - had made it home safely, but there was no way of knowing for sure.

Most importantly, his answer had to be convincing enough that Cahir didn't wrest control of his mind again. Even leaving aside the fact that he could put the others at risk, the prospect of going through that invasion into his thoughts again terrified him.

"They're… they're for communicating," he said at last. After all, there was a good chance these people wouldn't know how they worked, if they had to ask what a mobile phone was. Suddenly he found himself hoping that his phone's batteries  _had_  died. And at least there was nothing for his digivice to react to this far away from Gabumon. Maybe they'd think that both had stopped working. He didn't dare hope that anyone would give them back.

"With this… Koushiro you mentioned."

_Shit_. He should have realised Cahir would make that connection. What had he done? Wait, no. He'd turned the phone  _off_. There might still be a way to save the situation.

"I… yes… only they don't seem to be working any more," he said, praying that the honest fear in his voice lent credibility to the lie.

"And yet you told me that you were exploring the city on the advice of your friend," Cahir replied. "I am no fool, Ishida Yamato. I know when I am being lied to, and I  _will_  have the truth, willingly or not."

What could he say? His mind had gone blank - naturally this time, as panic took over. He shuddered, knowing what would come next. Any minute now he would hear the sounds of movement. Cahir would force him to stare into eyes which could somehow reach into his mind and pluck out whatever the other man wanted to know. What would happen if they found out about the others. No, forget  _if_  - this was a matter of  _when_. Cahir would get his answers. Yamato would betray his friends. Betray his  _brother_. The thought of Takeru in a cold prison flashed into his head; in chains, subject to Cahir's twisted "interrogations". Once there, he couldn't shake it from his mind.

They'd find them. This was their world, after all, and the Chosen were lost strangers, unaware of what was out there. Yamato had seen the looks on their faces - the digimon were monsters to them. What if these people killed their partners? Takeru had lost his once already and still had nightmares about it, years on. Losing Patamon a second time would destroy him - and there was no way to warn them about the danger they were in. He was trapped here, party to vital information and unable to share it.

He was shaking. That was the fear - no one was anywhere near him. It was silent in the room, and the suspense only made things worse. Cahir had to have planned that. The man seemed to be able to manipulate people even when he  _didn't_  have a pathway into their brains. He was being toyed with - and the fact Cahir must know he'd worked it out only made it worse. How long did he have until Cahir decided to make his move?

There. A gentle  _clack_  as the digivice and phone were set down on the desk. The grate of wood on stone - Cahir stood, pushing his chair backwards. One footstep, then two. Eyes tightly closed, Yamato felt his heart race; felt the manacles bite into his wrists as his arms shook; felt the cold of the stone floor beneath him seeping into his aching knees; felt his chest lock up with fear and dread; felt -  _nothing at all_.

* * *

_Sunday, 7:30pm_

The news was on. Something bad was happening somewhere - the same as any other day. Sora watched the screen without really seeing it. Piyomon sat beside her, resting a feathered wing over her shoulder. Neither of them had moved in over an hour. She hadn't even looked up when Mr Ishida had announced a few minutes ago that he was going out to get something to eat. That he wouldn't be long, he promised, and she should call him if anything happened.

Part of her was beginning to believe that nothing would  _ever_  happen. Even the knowledge that she would return to that strange other world at midnight didn't seem real enough to worry over. Yamato was still missing. Miyako had messaged them to say that Taichi had rescued Koushiro and Takeru. Which was good, it really was. The thought that something bad had happened to any of her friends weighed heavily on her heart. She wanted all of them to be safe. And yet, somehow it was hard to be relieved.

She felt guilty, too, thanks to the small knot of irritation she felt over the fact that of everyone remaining, she was the only one alone. Everyone else was gathering together, to support and comfort each other, and here she was, stuck with a near-solitary vigil because Yamato had disappeared here, and not returned. And part of her  _resented_  him for that. For getting trapped, and leaving her to fret and worry and wait, and not even have the comfort of her friends to console her. Piyomon was here, yes, but it was company of a different sort. It wasn't the frantic, desperate cheeriness of friends going through hell together. It wasn't Jou's almost comic worrying, or Mimi's unending cheer and blind optimism. It wasn't the murmured discussion between those gathered around the laptop in sporadic conversation with Gennai. The semi-regular messages letting her know who had come and gone from the apartment only served to remind her of the fact that she wasn't there. She felt left out, and no small part of her wished she could be with the others and not here, having to communicate via just her phone.

And what kind of horrible person was she to want to abandon her post when Yamato was missing? He could come back at any time. She knew that. She  _had_  to believe that, to hold tight to her faith that he would escape whatever it was that was holding him up.

That hope was balanced against a different one - that he would send a message instead, to let them know that he was safe and well. Trapped, but not in such peril that he was thrust out into the real world again. The memory of lighting and fear blossomed in the back of Sora's mind, and she pushed it from her thoughts, cuddling closer to Piyomon. Much as she wanted Yamato back, she had a better understanding of the stakes now.

"I'm sure he's okay, Sora." Of course Piyomon knew what she was thinking. How she felt.

"I just wish he was okay  _here_ , Piyo," she murmured, looking away from the screen. The sky outside was growing dark. She'd been here almost a full day now, and no one was any closer to understanding what was going on. They didn't even have Koushiro working on it any more - Ken and Miyako were doing their best to work with Gennai towards a solution, but neither of them was as familiar with digicode, and they hadn't reported much success so far.

Yamato's bedroom door was propped wide open, a constant reminder of the absence which kept her here. Of their current failure to even understand what was happening, let alone find out how to stop it. She stared into the empty room, then gritted her teeth and got to her feet. Mr Ishida would be back with food soon. Perhaps making some tea and laying out the table would help take her mind off of the long, quiet wait.

She fetched plates first, and stacked three on the counter top - ignoring the twinge in her heart that the third was for Piyomon and not Yamato. That there weren't five plates, with the digimon included. The twinge was stronger as she fetched two cups, and placed them by the electric kettle. Neither Piyomon nor Gabumon had much interest in drinking tea.

Next she filled the kettle, although she didn't set it to boil just yet. There was little point in making and steeping tea when it would probably only grow cold. Still, at least everything was ready for when Mr Ishida returned. She'd more or less taken over household tasks of that sort in the time since Yamato had disappeared - it gave her something to do, and made her feel less like an unwanted presence in the apartment, crowding on Mr Ishida's concern for both of his sons. As worried as she was, surely it couldn't match how she would feel if two of her own children were in another world. If one of them was totally unaccounted for and the other injured.

No, this was no good. She couldn't allow herself to get into a rut of thinking like this again - it was a vicious cycle. She had to be strong, to stay positive, to-

"SORA!" Piyomon's terrified shriek followed a muffled thump from Yamato's bedroom. She raced from the kitchen, dropping the box of tea in her haste. A small part of her heard the faint hiss of dried tea leaves spilling over the counter - she ignored it. That thump - Piyomon's scream - could only mean one thing.

"Yamato!"

She froze at the bedroom doorway for a split second, horrified. Yamato lay curled in the middle of his bed, his clothes tattered and covered in dust. The knees of his jeans were torn, and specks of dried blood showed through the holes in the material. Bruises mottled what she could see of his skin.

He flinched as she cried his name and her heart clenched. She didn't even remember running the rest of the way to the bed. He was back. He was alive. He was-

- _clink_.

She looked down at his wrists as he brought his hands up to shield his face - from  _her_? - and gasped. Thick metal encased both of his wrists, linked together by a chain. Shaking, she fell to her knees and reached out to him across the bed.

"Yamato, what… Please, speak to me. Tell me you're okay!"

Slowly, hesitantly, his head moved. Bright blue eyes met hers, wide with what had to be shock.

"… _Sora_?"

She'd never heard his voice crack like that. As though he were moments from breaking down into tears. It was all wrong; this wasn't how things were supposed to be.

"It's me, Yamato. You're home now. You're safe." Her voice sounded almost as fragile as his.

The metal chain clinked once more as he lowered his hands. They shook as he pressed them into the bed, levering himself upright, and looked around the room as though he expected something to leap out and attack him. Something wasn't right - she'd seen him not long after he'd returned the last time, and he'd been shaken, but otherwise fine. Now, he reminded her of a frightened animal more than anything. She reached out and gently placed her hand atop his, swallowing as her fingers brushed the metal cuff on his wrist.

"I'm back?" he said, his voice shaking as much as the rest of him. He didn't seem to be speaking to her so much as himself. In fact, he hardly seemed to see her at all.

"Yes, you're home now Yamato. I… Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. Everyone was really worried, and-"

"Where's Gabumon?" he asked sharply, looking frantically around him. She gasped. Where  _was_  Gabumon? In her relief to see him safely in front of her, she hadn't even noticed that he had returned alone.

He was shaking more now, his face a mask of terror.

"Gabumon, no, they'll  _kill_  him!" he moaned, pressing his hands to either side of his head.

" _Kill_ \- Yamato, I don't understand. What happened to you?" she asked, forcing her legs to work. To lift her so that she could sit on the bed beside him, and wrap one arm over his shoulder for comfort. A flash of pink out of the corner of one eye told her Piyomon had followed her into the room.

His whole body was shaking. It scared her, almost as much as when he had disappeared. Instincts unused in over a year screamed wrongness. He was home, but it was as though he'd hardly noticed. As though he'd brought whatever it was that had frightened him so much with him.

"I have to go back," he said, his voice high with panic. "I can't leave him. They'll… oh God, why is this happening? I can't… They… I don't know what I'll do… if anything happens to him…"

The broken speech trailed off as his breathing became more erratic. Sora clung to him, pleading for him to calm down, to listen to her, to let her help him. He was shaking again, shaking like a leaf and the terrified expression on his face was starting to scare her too. This wasn't the Yamato she knew.

"Sora, let go!"

She barely even heard Piyomon's frightened cry. It was too late, in any case - in his panic, Yamato had clung to her free arm, holding her as tightly as she held him. The petrified expression on his face as the blackness took them both was one she would never forget.

* * *

_Sunday, 7:30pm_

Hikari stared across the hall at the "Elders" she had been brought to meet. The word had brought to her mind an image of, well. Old men and women. Grizzled beards, grey hair, wrinkles, that sort of thing. Some of them ought to have wings, of course, like Alwyn and Nonie, but beyond a very vague idea of what that would look like she hadn't really given it much thought.

To her credit, there was  _one_  old man among the Elders, and a short, petite woman with whisper-thin wings and grey streaks in her hair. The rest didn't look a whole lot older than Alwyn. And most of them were certainly not human. Some seemed to be part-human and part-animal, and several had wings, horns, or both. Strangest of all was a woman who seemed to have roots instead of feet - in a way, she reminded Hikari of Palmon, only her skin was the textured brown of tree bark, instead of green. She even had leaves growing out of her hair. It occurred to Hikari that a few of them looked an awful lot like fairies, and yet somehow, they didn't seem at all like the fairies from stories or cartoons. There was a realness to them which even Lilymon didn't possess.

They all regarded her with polite interest as she approached in Alwyn's wake. He gestured for her to stop a short distance from the row of their chairs, and flew slightly closer before coming to a halt himself.

"Elders of the Forest, I present Yagami Hikari, Chosen Child of Light."

She bowed as Alwyn spoke, lifting her head in time to see a few lingering expressions of interest. The old man seemed to regard her with something akin to doubt. At least he was the only one.

"We welcome you, Yagami Hikari of the Chosen Children. I am Ithel, spokesperson for the Elders of the Forest."

The speaker was a small man with wings similar to Nonie's, and although he looked older than either of them by a considerable margin, he still seemed surprisingly young for an "Elder". Then again, if he really  _was_  a fairy of some sort, there was a good chance he was older than he looked. She had a vague recollection of them being immortal.

The woman beside Ithel was the one with thin, transparent wings. She stood and then took to the air, her wings humming faintly as she circled Hikari once before landing in front of her. The top of her head barely reached Hikari's chin. She stared up at her with a curious expression on her face. Despite the grey streaks in her hair, her skin was hardly wrinkled at all.

"Most intriguing," the woman said. She shook her head, and took to the air once more, hovering with her eyes level to Hikari's own. "I do apologise, my child, for the rude entrance you had to our city. Unfortunately, in these dark times we are unable to take chances with strangers who visit us. I must also ask you to excuse the length of time you were made to wait for this audience - a full gathering of the Elders is a rarity these days. I hope you found the additional comforts we were able to provide sufficient."

Hikari smiled. "I have been most comfortable. Thank you for your hospitality."

The old man stood. "Maela. It is all very well to greet this stranger, but can we be certain that she speaks truly? Her words to Alwyn regarding these… digimon concern me. Thus far we have seen no evidence of their being anything other than hostile creatures bent on destruction."

The woman - Maela, Hikari guessed - turned to the man. "There is an easy way to be certain of that, is there not?" When he nodded, she turned back to Hikari. "Please, child. Tell us of the marks which the Chosen bear. Of their number and names."

Hikari blinked. "Marks?" she asked. "I- I don't understand, unless… Do you mean the Crests?" It was hard to think clearly with the large group of assorted Elders sat watching her. Particularly with the older man - the only other human there, she realised - staring at her so coldly.

"Peace, child," Ithel said. "We bear you no ill-will. The humans of the forest have fared hardest in these dark times. Sjarel speaks with a great concern for his people forefront in his mind. What goes by one name in this world may use another in your own. We speak of marks, such as the mark of Light which you bear."

She sighed with relief. "Well, they're called Crests in the Digital World, where we got them. They started out as physical objects, you see," she said. "Mine is Light, but the others are Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Purity, Honesty, Hope and Kindness. The Crest of Kindness still has a physical form, I think, but not the others."

Maela nodded. "And what became of them after they lost their physical form?"

Hikari frowned. "Well, we realised that we had their power inside us." She put a hand to her chest, where the Crest of Light had once rested; a comforting warmth which could shine forth with the Light it represented. "And then a year or so after that we had to give their strength to protect the Digital world. The power of the Crests restored the Digital world. But they are still inside us really - it's just that they're not quite as strong as they used to be."

"Well, Sjarel, are you convinced?" Ithel said. "It is as the legends foretell."

Sjarel nodded. "Although the legends speak of nine. Nine Marks, or Crests, yes we know of that. But where are the children who belong to them? I see before us only one."

The tree-woman nodded. "If we are upon the time of Merging, it is most important that all nine be present."

Hikari's eyes widened as the group of Elders began to talk amongst themselves.  _Nine_? Now she  _really_  needed to get word back to the others. Alwyn had promised that her digivice and D-Terminal would be returned to her if the Elders permitted it. By now it had to be Sunday evening in the real world. Had the others worked out what was going on? It was starting to sound as though there was some sort of prophecy about them -  _again_. If that was true, then surely it was only a matter of time before the others ended up in this place as well. Koushiro would really need to know that it wasn't only the four of them, after all.

The discussion among the Elders was growing louder. From the sounds of things, they were in disagreement about what to do with her.

"…on her own. There's no use in praying for miracles when so far we have only one of the nine." The speaker was a short man wearing a loin cloth. His legs were covered in fur, and ended with hoofed feet, like a deer or goat's.

She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but I know how to find the others," she said, hoping that they would hear her. Fortunately, although Maela had flown closer to the other Elders to participate in the discussion, she hadn't flown all the way to her throne-like chair.

"Yagami Hikari, you have a means to summon your fellow Chosen?"

All eyes turned to her - Alwyn's included. She had told him that her D-Terminal could send a message, yes, but he didn't know that she could use it for anything else.

"I… when I appeared in this world with my partner, I had something called a D-Terminal with me," she said, glancing at Alwyn to see his nod. She looked back at the Elders. "I use that to talk to the others, no matter what world we're in. But it can also be used to find each other. It's like a beacon. And I'm not the only one of us who's been here. There are four of us so far, although I don't know if the others are all here at the moment. We were still trying to work out what this world is and why we were being pulled here when I was brought to the Forest city."

"And this… D-Terminal, it can bring the others?" Sjarel asked, folding his arms.

She shook her head. "We don't really know how we're coming and going from this world. Only that it seems to happen while we're asleep, and at midnight or midday when we come here. And that to get back… so far the only way we've managed to go back has been when we've been scared. Really scared. But I can use the D-Terminal to explain where I am, and the others could come and find me. And… if it really is the nine of us, then probably the rest will start to appear here soon."

Ithel nodded, and turned to Alwyn. "We must speak of this, and decide upon a course of action. Please, Alwyn, escort the Chosen of Light to somewhere she may sit in comfort whilst we confer."

They returned to the antechamber outside the great hall where the Elders gathered. There were chairs and a couple of benches around the edges of the room, but Alwyn led her through another door into a still smaller room. Here, there were some broad, cushioned seats, and small tables laid out with food. Pitchers stood on one of the tables, next to a few goblets inlaid with gold and silver wire.

"Will they take long to decide what to do?" she asked, as they both sat down. "I don't really know anything about how this place works."

Alwyn smiled crookedly. In the hours since convincing him that she wasn't here to harm anyone, Hikari had discovered that he had a rather black sense of humour.

"In the days before we were driven underground, I would have told you to retire to you chambers for a week or more," he said, leaning forwards and pouring a crimson liquid into two of the goblets. "But in these trying times, they have learnt to confer with greater speed. I believe they will be able to give you an answer within the hour. You must understand that, foretold or not, there is much we do not know about your presence here. We have only half-remembered texts and the words of the Fates - and the Fates themselves have not been seen in years."

"Fates?" Hikari asked. "I don't understand."

Alwyn sighed. "I'm not sure how much I should tell you, before the Elders reach their decision. Forgive me for my reticence, but we must be cautious of enemy agents. Ever since the digimon joined our foes-"

"That's something else I don't understand properly," she said. "You wouldn't explain before. How did the digimon get here? And how do you know it's really them who are attacking? Is someone controlling them?"

He offered her one of the goblets, and sat back, taking a drink from his own. It was a few moments before he spoke, all traces of humour gone from his voice.

"I did not speak of this before, as it is a sensitive matter. But I cannot imagine that they will consider you anything other than one of the Chosen who were spoken of by the Fates. And knowing them, they'll spin the information out into a saga. So I may as well explain now."

He paused again, sighing.

"The digimon are not our only foes. Nor the most numerous. But several months ago, they began to appear in the distorted areas in and around the Forest, and allied themselves with the beast-folk, who have almost all fallen to the corruption. They are powerful foes, and since their first appearance the distortions in the world have spread. Our scouts intercepted messages containing their identity, and that they originate from a place known as the "digital world". There is very little more that we know about them. The Elders sent word to the Grand Council, but we have not heard word from them since. I suspect our messenger was intercepted."

Hikari frowned. "I suppose it's possible that the digimon here are just lost and confused. They caused a lot of problems on Earth that way. But if there's a corruption here, then it could also be that the digimon here have been affected by that too. If that's the case, our digivices and D3s should be able to either heal them or send them back to the digital world. I don't know about these distortions you talked about though."

Alwyn nodded. "The distortions are a matter for the Elders to speak of, at any rate. I've possibly told you more than they would prefer already. For now, we must wait."

* * *

At last the Elders called them back into the great hall. She bowed, and rose to find Ithel smiling at her.

"We have conferred," he said, glancing to either side of him at the other Elders, who nodded their agreement. "By your words and presence here, you have proven yourself to be one of the Chosen, whose coming was foretold by the Fates of this world. As such, we are bound to assist you in your quest. However, that quest can only begin when the nine are assembled before the Grand Council. You have told us that there is a way for you to find your fellow Chosen by the use of these devices."

A fairy - he  _had_  to be a fairy - with pale yellow and blue wings flew over. The tray he carried held Hikari's D3 and D-Terminal, along with everything else she'd had in her pockets. Hikari smiled at him as she collected her belongings.

The smile faded quickly as she opened the D-Terminal. The screen was blank. That wasn't a good sign. She pressed the power button, and felt her heart sink as it didn't respond.

"I think we have a problem," she said, looking up at the Elders. "The D-Terminal… it's run out of power. Unless you have some batteries around here, the only way I can get it working again is by going home."

Amid the jumble of voices which spoke out in surprise, Sjarel's rang clearly.

"And how are we to know that this is not merely a ploy to betray us? You say that you must return, but how are we to know with whom you communicate after you leave this world? You might betray us to our enemies. It is known already that you are allied with digimon."

"I'm telling the truth!" she cried. "I'm not going to betray you. Besides, I don't even know exactly how I can  _get_  home."

"Alwyn mentioned that you have travelled between this world and our own more than once," Maela said, gesturing for the other Elders to be silent. "How was this achieved on those occasions? We may be able to use this information to assist you now."

She swallowed, and hung her head. "I was chased by… I don't know. It was a monster. In a cave outside the forest. Every night for a week I've gone to sleep and woken up there. Koushiro - he has the Crest of Knowledge - well, he thinks that we go back to Earth by being scared. Really scared."

"And the digimon you travelled with? How did this creature come to this world with you?" Sjarel stood with his arms folded, looking defiantly at Maela and Ithel.

"She was touching me when I disappeared on Earth. It happened with some of the others too. We can carry things and people between there and here."

There was a short silence. "I see but one course of action, if that is the case," Ithel said. His expression was grave; his voice sombre. "We must facilitate your return to Earth, that you may replenish the D-Terminal. And to satisfy those of our number who retain doubts, one of our own will travel with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! A longer chapter this time. Hikari's section is a little slower in pace than I would really have preferred, but the alternative was to cut and splice this elsewhere, and it just really wasn't going to work that way. Either it got stupidly bitty, or it started to feel as though I was concealing information for the sake of concealing it. Which is not the direction I want to take this story in. I know there's been a fair bit of not-knowing-things so far, but that's because the characters didn't know anything either. That side of things will resolve itself in the near-ish future.
> 
> Also, there are a faaair few OCs in this chapter, yes. Given the setting, that's sort of unavoidable, but the focus is definitely going to remain on the Chosen Children and their partners. It's simply that, at the moment, Hikari is kinda without either. Anyway, feedback is, as always, very welcome. And if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!


	21. Chapter 21

_Sunday, 6:00pm_

It was another one of those moments where the only sound was the faint clack of fingers on keyboards. Miyako and Ken were apparently making much faster progress with the addition of Ken's laptop - something about being able to see the information clearly. And at least Tentomon had gotten over his panic at someone else using Koushiro's pride and joy. The requests for the pair of them to "be careful" were only coming every ten minutes or so now.

Jou sighed. He'd always thought that the worst part of being one of the Chosen Children was the bit where they inevitably ended up running or fighting for their lives. On occasion they'd even had to do both together - moments which held a special place in his heart as among the worst in his life. This time, though, it was different. There was something about waiting with no idea of what was happening to the others, and no way of knowing how and when they would be able to return, which managed to make the experience rank right up there with being chased by hostile digimon.

"Here." He looked up to see Mimi holding out a bowl of food. "Mrs Yagami is still in Hikari's room crying, so Daisuke and I decided we ought to make everyone something to eat," she said.

Blinking, he accepted the proffered bowl. Now that he thought about it, the last time he'd eaten had been that morning. "I must have zoned out," he said. "I didn't even realise you were in the kitchen. Thanks."

She shrugged. "Oh, it wasn't a bother. I promised Iori's mother that I'd make sure he had dinner, and it was silly to make food for him and not everyone else. And then Daisuke offered to help because he's been over here a few times and knows where things in the kitchen are, and it turns out he's a pretty good cook. You'd never guess, would you?"

Jou nodded, letting Mimi's words wash over him. If he were honest with himself, he wasn't really listening. Still, it was nice to hear her talking so calmly, as though there weren't a major crisis unfolding around them which would almost certainly impact the both of them that night. Apparently some things never changed. Mimi had always been better than him at finding something to distract herself from worrying obsessively.

He ate mechanically. The noodles might have been nice, or they might have been bland; he was too preoccupied with the aforementioned worrying about everything to really taste anything at all.

Time passed. Each minute of inaction seemed to stretch out and double its length. Each sound was amplified. The clatter of dishes being washed in the kitchen. The clack of fingers on keyboards and the murmur of Ken and Miyako's discussion of their progress. The hum of Tentomon's wings as he took to the air now and then just to make sure that Koushiro's laptop was safe.

At last, Iori cleared his throat. "I should get home. My mother didn't want me to stay out too late when there's school tomorrow."

Jou looked up to see the apology on the younger boy's face.

"Hey, it's okay Iori," he said. The least he could do was try to offer some comfort. "It makes no sense for you to stay here and make your mother worry. You've got your D-Terminal, so we can keep you up to date with everything. Did you want someone to walk you back?"

Iori looked around the room. Ken and Miyako hadn't even seemed to notice their conversation, and Mimi and Daisuke were still finishing up the dishes. He frowned, and shook his head.

"It's okay Jou. I can walk back by myself. You need to be here in case Sora calls, remember?"

Jou looked at the clock on the wall, which showed the time to be half six. In a few hours it would be a full day since Yamato had disappeared. If he were being honest with himself, he knew that they'd passed the window in which he could be expected to return without assistance already. Still. There was no reason to let his fears show. He had a duty to the others to keep up the pretence of normality, which meant forcing a smile to his face, cheerfully escorting Iori to the door, and waving him off as though this would all blow over.

The door closed behind him with a click, and he groaned. Mimi leant out of the kitchen area and looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong, Jou?" she asked.

"I just thought of something," he replied, putting his head in his hands. "Iori went home because he has  _school_  in the morning. How long do we have before Koushiro's parents call and ask to know where he is? I mean, at least if anyone else's parents call we can make an excuse. But Koushiro isn't even  _here_. And so far as anyone's parents know, he and Miyako have been here since yesterday. We're going to start getting phone calls wanting them to go home ready for the morning. And for that matter, what are  _we_  going to do? Tomorrow's Monday."

Mimi shrugged. "Well, I told my parents I was staying at Sora's tonight, and heading to school from there in the morning. I brought my uniform with me. Can't you call the college and tell them something's come up?"

Jou stared at her.

"I'm studying to be a  _doctor_ , Mimi. I can't skip school just like that!"

Uh-oh. From the look which appeared on Mimi's face, he'd said the wrong thing.

"Well! Jou, honestly I am disappointed in you. This is  _important_. Our friends are missing or trapped in another world and they need our help, and I for one plan to do everything I can to rescue them if I do in fact end up there tonight. I can't believe you're being so heartless as to think a few lectures are more important-"

"That's not what I'm saying!" Jou snapped, loudly enough that everyone turned to look at him. He faltered slightly as he realised the scene he'd created. "I…all I meant was- the college isn't going to buy an excuse like that so easily. Of course I care about helping the others! I mean, if Taichi's message an hour or so ago was right and Koushiro's injured too, I'm needed right here. But this isn't something we can count on ending in a day or two. We're no closer now than we were yesterday to knowing what's going on, and telling parents we're visiting each other or schools that we have family emergencies are excuses which won't last very long - especially since so many of us are affected and we're all close friends. We need to think up something more convincing than vague explanations, and we need to do it fast because we don't know how much longer we have left until we're trapped there too!"

Silence fell in the wake of his rather frantic outburst. Everyone was staring at him as he stood there regaining his breath.

"Well, Jou, I'm impressed," said Gomamon, sounding as cheerful as ever. "You lasted much longer this time before getting into a panic. You're really growing up!"

Mimi turned to stare at the digimon, who were all clustered on the sofa, peering over the back of it at them. She put a hand to her mouth and briefly stifled a giggle, before giving up and laughing, while everyone turned turned to stare at  _her_  in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," she said after a minute or so when she'd managed to calm down. "But really, Gomamon's right. You're still exactly the same as you were all those years ago Jou. It's just like old times. And we always managed to work everything out then, so there's really no reason to suppose things will be different now, is there? We got separated before, but we always found each other again."

Jou sagged. He wished he shared Mimi's optimism, he really did. But Mimi hadn't been the one to console Takeru; to patch up the burns and, later, the other assorted injuries he'd received. She hadn't been there to hear the terror in Yamato's voice as he had reappeared, believing his brother to have been crushed beneath a falling building. Try as he might, Jou simply couldn't push the fear and concern from his mind.

* * *

_Sunday, 7:00pm_

Takeru was glad his head had stopped aching so much. He'd carried Patamon for a while, as had Taichi, but his own head was the little digimon's preferred resting place, and, truth be told, it was reassuring to have the weight there. He'd long since gotten used to being a perch, anyway. Despite the lingering tenderness, he felt much better with his partner sat up there while they walked along.

The going was slow. There wasn't much of a path through the woods, and they were hampered by the fact that half their group were injured and weary - and that Takeru and Koushiro didn't even have any shoes. Takeru ached all over, especially in his back, and several of the burns on his arms nagged at him. He was sure the blisters had ruptured, but none of them were keen on the thought of undoing the layers of bandages Jou had wrapped his arms in order to find out.

Koushiro lagged behind the rest of the group. He had somewhat reluctantly allowed Taichi to place his injured arm in the sling before they set out into the woods, and there was no denying that he found the going harder than the others. Takeru could understand that. They both had similar injuries, but Koushiro didn't spend his time playing sports. He was probably the least athletic of all the Chosen Children - even Jou managed to exercise more, although that was usually down to the general air of bad luck which surrounded him, and tended to leave him running full pelt to make it to lectures or exams on time.

Koushiro was never late. Koushiro pretty much never ran anywhere, that Takeru knew of. So really, when Taichi looked back from his position at the front of their party to see what the hold-up was  _again_ , it was something of a surprise that Koushiro didn't bear the brunt of another verbal lashing. Takeru could see that Taichi was irritated. His body radiated tension and the knuckles of his clenched fists were white. But instead of yelling - which he absolutely would have if it had been, say, Yamato - he just sighed.

Takeru sighed as well, as he thought of his brother. In so many ways this trek through the woods reminded him of their time in the Digital world. And of course, every time that thought appeared in his head, the associated flood of memories just brought him back to the fact that Yamato was missing. It wasn't even like last time, where he'd come back, fought with Taichi, and then announced he was off again. He was just… gone. All they had to go on was his last message to Koushiro, in which he'd mentioned hiding from someone or something. And now, here they were, lost in unfamiliar woods, and all Takeru could think of was that Yamato should  _be there_ , just like Jou, Mimi, Sora and Hikari should too.

He was lost in another wave of nostalgia when Taichi's D-Terminal beeped. It was only when the older boy swore that he really became aware of what was going on. They had halted in the woods while Taichi grabbed the Terminal from his pocket. Koushiro stood leaning against a tree, breathing heavily. Tailmon and Agumon watched Taichi closely.

"It's for you, Koushiro," Taichi said, nodding at the confused expression he got in response. "Miyako says your parents want to know where you are."

Koushiro deflated. There wasn't really any other word for it. He sagged against the tree, turning his head so he faced away from them. Takeru could just make out the movement as he closed his eyes.

"I… I suppose we have to tell them the truth," he said at last, his voice leaden. "Or something like it. If I tell them it's Digital world stuff, they won't understand why I can't get back or give them a message directly."

Taichi walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get Mimi to call them, okay? She can do cheerful. And we'll leave out the bit about the roof for now."

Koushiro looked up, and smiled weakly. "Thanks," he said. "I should have thought of this sooner really. I suppose I was delaying the inevitable in the hope that somehow it would be unnecessary."

From his position to one side of the group, Takeru watched with a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, he couldn't help but be slightly irritated by the delay. Hikari and Yamato  _needed_  them. And really, what was so different about Koushiro's parents being informed than his own? They weren't the ones in danger, after all, so why was it something to make a fuss over? On the other hand, Taichi was more worried about Hikari than even Tailmon, and yet he considered it important enough to take the time to reassure Koushiro. To make sure that his parents wouldn't find out that their son was injured. Nor did Agumon - or even Tailmon for that matter - seem surprised by this, which meant it was a real enough issue that they were aware of it too.

Once again, Takeru was reminded of just how poorly he really knew some of his friends. He remained quiet while Taichi and Koushiro decided what to put in the message they sent to Miyako, turning his attention to the woods around them instead.

Patamon stirred on his head. Takeru winced a little as his partner's claws poked through the hat and into his scalp.

"Something's out there," Patamon whispered. "I saw it."

He froze. The others were too far away to call over - if he raised his voice, whatever it was would know it had been seen. Which, if it was peaceful, wouldn't be a problem. They hadn't seen anything peaceful in this world so far though. He took a step backwards, wincing as his foot scrunched dead leaves underfoot. In the gloom ahead of him, something moved. It was hard to tell what it was, exactly, as its colouring matched the undergrowth almost perfectly. On his head, Patamon tensed, claws tightening their grip on his hat.

The bushes rustled. It was ridiculous, really, to be wishing for even more light in this over-saturated world, but for some reason he was finding it difficult to pin down where the creature was. He'd heard it. He'd even seen the blur of movement. But now that it was still, somehow it had vanished again, right in front of his eyes. Close enough that, if he looked away, there was a reasonable chance of it rushing him. The others were still talking - they didn't appear to have noticed anything wrong. What should he do?

Patamon answered the question for him when the undergrowth before them moved once more. As it lurched towards them, his partner took to the air, blasting the creature with three consecutive Air Shots. It was bowled over by the force of them, and slammed into a tree. Before Takeru could make out what it was, something else moved, rushing in from the left to seize the creature and make off with it.

"What the hell was that?" Taichi exclaimed. He and the others had raced over the moment Patamon started attacking.

"I don't know," Takeru replied. "For some reason it was like my eyes couldn't focus on it. It was just this blur."

"Well, whatever it was, it got away. So we'd better be on our guard in case it comes back," Koushiro said. He sighed. "I wish Tentomon was here."

"If wishes were fishes, I'd be in heaven," Tailmon said, folding her arms. "We should keep moving."

* * *

The atmosphere took a turn to the serious after their encounter. They had been aware that there was danger in this world beforehand, but it was different now that they'd actually had to fend off a mysterious something. The pace slowed, as Taichi refused to walk on ahead and leave Koushiro trailing behind. Spreading themselves out like that would make them easier targets.

Tailmon and Agumon walked either side of them, and Patamon kept watch from atop Takeru's hat. Now and then he would take to the air, and try to see where they were among the trees. The mountains remained stubbornly far off to what morning had confirmed to be the east.

They had been walking for perhaps another twenty or thirty minutes when Tailmon raised a paw, her ears twitching. At the same time, Patamon stiffened, his claws tightening their grip on Takeru's hat once more.

"What is it?" Taichi whispered, looking at the trees surrounding them.

Tailmon ignored him, continuing to stare at a point somewhere out in the trees. Almost unconsciously, they all gathered closer together, letting Agumon stand on the far side of Taichi, even as Koushiro moved behind Tailmon. Patamon leapt from Takeru's hat and landed in front of him as he faced the direction they'd come from, completing the triangle. Takeru could only hope his partner felt rested enough from his ride, and the healthy meal he'd eaten before they started walking.

Patamon's wing-ears twitched a half second before the arrow landed in the dirt, not six inches away from his body. Takeru let out a gasp of shock, and lurched forwards to grab his partner.

"Don't move!" cried a voice from somewhere in the woods. "We have you surrounded."

Taichi swore. Takeru, frozen in the act of reaching out for Patamon, could only hear Tailmon's hiss of frustration, and the low growl from Agumon. He looked past his partner at the arrow embedded in the dirt. An arrow? Who the hell used  _arrows_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up being a shorter chapter than I had originally intended, because I reached a kinda natural break and there wasn't going to be another one for...a while. Also because I'm an evil person and love cliffhangers. Evil writerly cackling and all that.


	22. Chapter 22

_Sunday, 7:36pm_

For achingly long seconds, there was silence. Takeru could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Patamon had never looked so small as he did right then, with an arrow longer than his entire body sticking out of the dirt not far away from them.

He heard movement to either side of their group, although he didn't dare look and see who or what approached them. The voice had sounded human, but that wasn't a guarantee by any means.

"Now, moving slowly, stand straight and raise your hands where we can see them. And no funny business. Any charms, incantations or glamours and we will put an arrow through you where you stand. That goes for your familiars, too."

Wait,  _what_? The voice had a deadly seriousness to it which Takeru wasn't going to argue with. From the silence, neither were any of the others. Still. What the hell did it mean by "charms, incantations or glamours"?

He straightened with a slowness which made his back ache. From Koushiro's stifled groan, he wasn't the only one. He should be afraid, he knew that. Instead, his stomach was weighted with a blend of frustration, confusion, and anger. How dare these…hopefully people get in the way of their rescue mission. What  _else_  was going to go wrong in this world?

Something moved to his right, on the very edge of his peripheral vision, and it took every scrap of willpower Takeru possessed not to turn and see what it was. As it drew closer, he realised it was a man, dressed in what was unmistakably camouflage, although it didn't resemble any camouflage he'd ever seen. Rather than the printed merging of varying greens and browns, the outfit seemed to be  _made_  of plants. Hard on the heels of this was the observation that it would be more accurate to say that what he beheld was a roughly man-shaped tree, draped in branches and leaves to conceal his silhouette.

Takeru had seen plenty of odd creatures which straddled the boundaries between human, animal, machine and plant. That made it a lot easier to simply raise his eyebrows at the sight, and not flinch. Flinching would have been a very bad idea, because the… _person_  carried a bow, with a quiver of arrows slung on his belt. He wasn't alone, either. More emerged from the trees to either side of him, and from Koushiro's sharp intake of breath and Taichi's out and out gasp, the claim that they had been surrounded was true.

They weren't all strange tree-human hybrids. In fact, of the four individuals arranged before him, no two were alike. One of them did seem to be human, while another had thin, almost transparent wings and hovered a short distance off the ground. The fourth had wings as well, but looked like a child. All four watched impassively, their bows levelled at him and Patamon. Takeru swallowed convulsively, wishing his arms hurt less. How long could he stand like this without moving?

"Right," said the voice from before. Takeru couldn't see the speaker. "Now. Slowly - and I  _mean_  slowly - lower your hands once more. You're going to be coming with us. All trespassers in the forest are to be brought before the Elders. You. Are your familiars sentient?"

There was the sound of Taichi spluttering with frustration, only to be interrupted by Tailmon.

"Of course we are," she said. "We're co-operating, aren't we?"

Takeru could see the four people watching him react. They hadn't been expecting Tailmon to speak, that was for certain. The one that looked human turned his stare on Patamon, as though the little digimon were about to leap at him. Takeru itched to defend his partner. Standing there helplessly was torture.

"Hmph," said the voice from before. "Well, you can thank my orders for the fact you're not pincushions right now, after what you did to one of my squad. But I can assure you, those orders will  _not_  protect you if you pull any stunts. Now. You will remain as you are while my men secure you, and then we're going to take a nice little walk through the tunnels. And don't think you'll be spying out the entrance to make a report for your masters - you're going blindfolded. Any objections and you go horizontally instead. Am I understood?"

There was silence. Takeru wasn't sure whether to answer or not - apparently the others were either experiencing the same dilemma or had plumped for silence. After a moment, two people approached. The first, a human, walked up to Takeru carrying a length of rope. The one heading for Patamon seemed to be half-human, with furry legs and cloven feet. Instead of rope, he carried a sack. Apparently they weren't going to waste time worrying about how best to tie his partner.

The man tied Takeru's hands together in front of him, paying little notice to the bandages. Takeru bit back a yelp of pain as the rope bit into one of the blisters, already long since ruptured. His attention switched to his partner as the man reached into a pack on his side for something. The… _individual_  with a sack was roughly manhandling Patamon into it. Takeru gritted his teeth as Patamon squeaked in protest. Nevermind fear - he was livid at the thought that they might hurt his partner.

Hands gripped his shoulders and turned him around. He yelped as the tight grip pressed on the cut on his shoulder. There was just time for him to see that Koushiro had been bound with his arm strapped to his body before a hood was slipped over his face and everything went dark. From behind him he heard Patamon's muffled voice say: "Hey!" indignantly, followed by a voice snapping for him to be quiet. Someone - he presumed it was the man who had bound his wrists - pushed him forwards.

It was almost impossible to walk through the undergrowth of the forest without being able to see. Takeru lost count of the number of times he tripped, stubbed his toes on rocks or tree roots, or heard the others doing the same. More than once, he heard Taichi mutter curses from just in front of him. Koushiro seemed to be still further ahead, while the digimon were behind him. Tailmon in particular did not take well to captivity, hissing with frustration at semi-regular intervals.

Their captors remained quiet. Eerily so. Aside from the occasional order for their group to remain silent - usually following an expletive from Taichi - there was almost no indication there was anyone with them other than the man directing Takeru through the forest. It was little wonder that they had been surrounded so easily.

Takeru wasn't sure how long they walked for. Long enough for his legs, already sore, to develop a persistent ache - one echoed by virtually every other inch of his body. The constant stumbling and occasional snagging branch or patch of thorns was most certainly not helping. His feet, clad only in socks, felt every stone and twig he walked over. The hood was hot and stuffy, too, and sweat stung the open blisters on his cheeks. At last they were halted, and he felt bodies jostling against him. There came a sound of grating stone, and he was ushered forwards once more.

His eyes had adjusted to the light filtering through the hood as they walked. Now it diminished once more. They were inside, then. Somewhere poorly lit. There was a musty smell, too, and a slight chill in the air which reminded him of the caves they had sheltered in during their times in the digital world. Were they going underground? Tailmon had mentioned Hikari being grabbed by hands emerging from a rock face - what if they had been captured by the same people? He straightened slightly. If that were the case, perhaps they would find her after all. Hope - never something he was entirely without, to be fair - blossomed in his chest once more. After all. He was being marched blindly down a mysterious passage, surrounded by a strange assortment of armed escorts, in an unfamiliar world with no obvious way home. Hope was more or less the only thing he had left to cling on to.

* * *

_Sunday, 7:50pm_

Against all his expectations for the evening, Daisuke was bored. Everyone was just sitting around more or less in silence, and despite how serious it all was - and he  _knew_  it was serious, after seeing the state Takeru had arrived home in - he was finding it hard to do the same. He was not a person used to sitting back and doing nothing. All this waiting around was starting to make him feel fidgety. He wanted action. Or even just to lighten the mood, because honestly this was starting to get depressing.

It had been fine while there was something to do - like making food. That had actually been kinda fun, especially since Mimi had picked up different ways of doing things from having lived in America. And even doing the dishes afterwards beat sitting there listening to Jou worry about things with Gomamon. Or watching Miyako and Ken crowding so close around Koushiro's laptop that they practically gave Tentomon a heart attack. Well. He was pretty sure that digimon couldn't  _have_  heart attacks, but if ever there was a likely candidate, it was Tentomon.

He'd called his parents and told them he was staying away overnight because of digital world stuff simply because the thought of going home and not being part of things was unbearable. What if they all arrived back and he was  _needed_  somehow, you know? But the reality was looking a lot more like he was just going to sit around taking up space and wishing he didn't have to be so quiet. The atmosphere was a real downer, thanks to the parents being around. Things would be a lot easier if it was only the Chosen Children. Adults always complicated things. He was pretty sure that if they hadn't had to worry about Mrs Yagami and Mrs Takaishi, the plan for midnight would have involved everyone grabbing either Mimi or Jou and going along too.

Well. Maybe he'd have been the only one wanting to do that. But honestly, how could everyone just sit there and not do anything when Hikari had been kidnapped and no one even  _knew_  what had happened to Yamato? Someone needed to rescue them, and right now that someone wasn't him and it was incredibly  _annoying_  to have to sit back and watch Taichi and Takeru get all the glory and the action. And Koushiro, of course, but he was pretty sure Koushiro didn't want anything other than to be back here with his laptop. It was hard to imagine Koushiro doing anything which didn't involve sitting down and fixing things by being a know it all.

For a little while, he had been tempted to pop over to the digital world and fetch V-mon. The knowledge of how hard it would be to sit quietly and expect an ever hyperactive Chibimon from causing a scene held him back. Daisuke might not have been the most academic of all the Chosen, but that didn't mean he was  _stupid_. Although of course, if nothing kept on happening, he'd be sorely tempted to visit the digital world simply for something to do.

The atmosphere changed instantly when the phone rang. Everyone stiffened, and looked right at it. Jou, in an act of athleticism which frankly astounded Daisuke, leapt over the back of the sofa and ran to answer it. The adults appeared from Hikari's room, where Mrs Takaishi had been comforting Mr and Mrs Yagami.

"Hello this is the Yagami residence, Kido Jou speaking." The words came out all in a rush, as though Jou was running out of breath. From the speed at which he'd bolted to answer the call, Daisuke was prepared to bet he  _was_  out of breath. The guy sure could move.

"Hold on, Mr Ishida, please slow down. I can't make out what you're saying."

Mrs Takaishi stood noticeable straighter as Jou mentioned her ex-husband's name. Everyone else leant slightly closer too. They'd had no news at all about Yamato in so long. Surely this phone call could only mean he'd come back? Daisuke could practically feel the mood start to lift - only for it to come crashing back down with Jou's next words.

"What? Sora's  _gone_? Where? Did… is there a note?" Jou leant against the wall, his face turning greyer by the second. "I… I see. Well- no, I think it's best if someones stays there until… Are you sure? Right, of course. No, I understand. I'll make sure to keep you up to date the moment we hear anything. No, Takeru is fine, last we heard. They're looking for Hikari, and sending regular messages. Okay. Thank you for letting us know. And…I'm sure they're fine, Mr Ishida. We've always managed perfectly well before. I know it's hard, but we have to trust that they can look after themselves."

Jou's face was ashen by the time he hung up. Daisuke was pretty sure that everyone in the room felt just as queasy as he looked.

"Jou, what  _happened_? Mimi asked, her voice shaken. "It's not even close to midnight - what does he mean about Sora being gone? And Piyomon, couldn't she explain what happened?"

Jou walked over to the dining table and sunk into a chair. He looked down at the surface for a moment, propping his head in his hands, and then looked up. When he spoke, it was to Miyako and Ken more than anyone else. Daisuke guessed it was because the pair were filling in for Koushiro - and Koushiro was who they always told important information to.

"Mr Ishida just got back from getting some groceries. He told Sora he would be as quick as he could, and he supposed it took him about half an hour to get to the shop and back. When he got home, the apartment was empty, but her shoes were still by the door. The television was still on, and it looked like Sora had been getting ready for dinner. There were cups and plates on the counter in the kitchen, and the kettle had been filled. He says he thinks she must have been surprised in the middle of making tea, because the box was on the counter - open, with the leaves spilling out everywhere. I'd guess she dropped it. The only other clue is that the light in Yamato's bedroom was on, and his bed is covered in dust and dirt."

There was a short, awkward silence before Ken cleared his throat, then winced as everyone turned to look at him. Daisuke raised an eyebrow at Miyako when she nudged the boy, nodding encouragement at him. Now  _that_  was interesting. Almost as interesting as the shade of red she turned when she noticed Daisuke watching her, knowing smirk plastered across his face.

"I…I think I might have an idea as to what happened," Ken said, keeping his eyes on the laptop. He seemed to be making a particular effort to avoid looking at Mrs Takaishi. "Koushiro told us his theories about how he and Takeru were pulled back to the other world. According to his messages, the most reasonable explanation is that the transfer based on fear works both ways. He called it a "Fear Gate" - in the same way that experiencing a strong level of fear in other world has worked so far to return everyone to this world, experiencing it here would send them back there."

Miyako nodded. "I was there when Takeru and Koushiro disappeared. Honestly, I might not be Jou, but I know a panic attack when I see one. Koushiro's explanation makes sense, as well, given what we know about how everyone's been getting home so far. Besides, Sora wouldn't have left the apartment - and anyway, Jou, you said said her shoes were still there. So something must have made her scared enough that she opened one of these fear gates."

Daisuke frowned. That seemed like a pretty big leap to him. "Yeah, but what could scare Sora so much about waiting in an apartment? She's been fine there until now, right?"

Mrs Takaishi gasped. "Yamato…"

* * *

_Sunday: 7:40pm_

One minute Sora was sat with Yamato on his bed, and the next she was on the floor in a stone chamber - and it  _was_  a chamber, not a room. The walls were hung with tapestries, and the furniture was ornate and wooden. A man who could have walked straight out of a movie screen was seated behind a desk, staring at them in surprise. Of course, she only had scant seconds to take note of that before all hell broke loose.

Someone grabbed her roughly and dragged to her feet. She cried out with surprise, which caught Piyomon's attention.

"Don't hurt Sora!" Piyomon cried, taking to the air with a furious expression on her face.

A man holding an old-fashioned gun swung it in an arc which connected with her partner, knocking her to the ground with a cry of pain. Sora screamed, and struggled furiously against the tight hold on her arms. Yamato wasn't moving. He seemed to be in the same state as he had been when he'd reappeared in his bedroom. The man at the desk stood swiftly, and made his way around it. While Sora struggled in vain, he grabbed Yamato's chin, and wrenched his face upwards.

The faintest wisps of black shadow had appeared around Yamato when suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head. The man let go of him, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Yamato!" Sora cried. "What did you do to him!"

The man with the gun turned to face her, raising his weapon. "Call your beast off!" he cried. "I won't hesitate to shoot."

Piyomon, still getting to her feet, hesitated seeing the weapon pointed at Sora.

The man who had grabbed Yamato smiled thinly.

"Now now, Corporal Lowry," he said. His voice was smooth and charming - and oddly reassuring, given what he'd just done. "I'm sure there's no need for alarm."

He got to his feet, dusting his hands together, and smoothing his clothes. Sora stared at him, torn between horror and curiosity. The so-called Corporal Lowry lowered his weapon, although he watched Piyomon warily.

"Who- who are you?" Sora asked. "And what did you just do?" Despite everything, she felt oddly calm. It was strange really - just a moment ago she had been screaming, but that all seemed unnecessary now. The man was watching her. She felt herself drawn to his eyes - it was hard to look away from them really. They promised answers, and wasn't that what she needed right now? Surely there had to be an explanation for what was happening, if she just calmed down and listened, and helped this man with what he wanted to know.

"Sora?" Piyomon was calling, and she sounded worried for some reason, but Sora didn't look at her partner. After all. They were in no danger here.

Something told her she ought to reassure her though, so she took a breath and said: "It's alright Piyomon. They won't hurt us." She must have been worn out after the struggle though, because her voice sounded oddly flat.

The man smiled thinly. For some reason, that didn't reassure Sora as much as she was sure it was supposed to.

"Now, Sora, is it?" the man said in a voice so crystal clear it seemed to reach right into her head, soothing her concerns away. "Perhaps we might have a little conversation. You've made  _quite_  the entrance. Why, my office has not seen such excitement in years. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Lord Cahir, head of security in the City. Please, be seated. We have much to discuss."

He clicked his fingers, and a man in a tunic produced a chair. He placed it beside Yamato's slumped body, then paused, as though waiting for further instructions.

Lord Cahir took a step backwards, away from Yamato, and then waved his hand.

"Fetch someone to take the boy back to his cell," he said. "I will deal with him later."

The man in the tunic bowed, and left.

"Sora?" Piyomon said. "Sora, why are you acting like that?" Her partner's voice seemed to be coming from oddly far away, even though Sora could see her out of the corner of her eye.

She didn't look away from Cahir. Something prickled in her mind, as though she really  _should_. It was hard to think, though, because all she could really focus on was the present. And at present she was looking at Lord Cahir, because he wanted to talk to her, and that was important.

The person holding her led her to the chair, and let go of her arms. She sat down.

"There, is this not more civilised?" Cahir said. "And do not fear for your friend. I merely encouraged him to sleep, lest he find himself travelling between worlds again. I'm sure you understand."

Sora nodded slowly, not lowering her gaze. She wasn't sure that she could have looked away if she'd wanted to.

"I will confess, I find myself somewhat surprised by the visitors he has brought us though. Might I have the pleasure of knowing who my new guests are?"

Well that seemed an innocent enough request.

"I am Takenouchi Sora," she replied, speaking slowly. "And my partner is Piyomon."

Somewhere beyond the edge of eyes so richly blue they seemed to glow, there was a smile. The eyes flickered to her right as someone far off called her name in a voice which was achingly familiar, and the mouth she could just about see said something she couldn't hear. There was a muffled cry, and silence fell once more.

"Now, Sora," Cahir said, and his words seemed to speak  _just_  to her. "I wonder. Would you happen to be a… a Chosen Child? Perhaps you could tell me about them."

"Yes," she replied calmly. "I am a Chosen Child, and I carry the Crest of Love. There are twelve Chosen Children, and nine of us have Crests. Yamato has the Crest of Friendship, Taichi has the Crest of Courage…"

It was so easy to tell those eyes everything. The voice asked so nicely, after all, and how could she fail to trust eyes which glinted the same shade of blue as Yamato's? Odd though, how hard it was to keep track of what she had already said. More than once she had to be gently reminded that she was repeating herself, and directed to talk about something else.

And the strangest thing of all was that as her interview with Lord Cahir ended, she felt tired. More tired than she had thought she would be, given that they had only been talking. The exhaustion washed over her, dulling her senses. She was vaguely aware of Cahir talking to someone he called Sergeant Garnett - the man who, she realised, had not moved from her side after leading her to the chair. A hand gripped her arm, and pulled her to her feet.

She was led out of Lord Cahir's office. The other man - the corporal - carried Piyomon, who seemed to be asleep. Along a corridor, and up the longest, most exhausting flight of stairs she could remember. Each step seemed to suck more energy from her, until at last she was stumbling, barely aware of her surroundings. They must have reached the end eventually though, for suddenly a door was clanging, and then she was lying down in a dim room.

Voices spoke somewhere nearby, but she was too tired to make out what they were saying. Her eyes fluttered and closed and she drifted, slowly, into a deep and dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter took a little while to get its act together and turn into words in my head (and I am still reeeally hoping I haven't overdone the surreal in that opening encounter), but once I got going, it was another one of those runaway things which perhaps got a little out of hand. I had always intended Sora's encounter with Cahir to be different to Yamato's, but I hadn't really planned on making it quite so... Well, I'll be honest, writing Cahir in this scene pretty much gave me the crawls. It's always the minor "fill a role" characters who end up that way in my experience. He really is super creepy to write.
> 
> I'm also hoping I managed to make Daisuke's perspective believable. Like Taichi, he's not a character I can particularly relate to, so I generally find it harder to get into that headspace. Pleeease let me know if I managed (or failed!) because I do try to stay IC as much as possible, and if there's anything glaring I like to fix it. Also, Jou being unexpectedly athletic in emergencies (and pretty much only then) is this headcanon I have developed recently and you cannot convince me otherwise.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurrah, an update! I've been a little absent of late thanks to a variety of medical issues - the most recent was a two day EEG (electroencephalogram - a brain scan, basically), where I was wired up to a computer to try and record one of my seizures. To make that more likely, I had to make myself ridiculously tired over the weekend, which meant that I wasn't really in any shape to write. Still! All done now, and hopefully it will be of use.

_Sunday, 8:07pm_

They had been walking down the dark tunnel for a good half hour or so when both Takeru's D-Terminal and Taichi's phone bleeped to announce a message. Almost instantly, hands gripped Takeru's arms. He cried out with pain as unseen fingers closed over ruptured blisters, scrapes, and bruises. Hands patted him down, locating his pocket and grabbing both his D-Terminal and D3. Despite the futility and painfulness of the gesture, Takeru couldn't help struggling against the ropes around his wrists. What was he going to do if he lost them?

To judge from the sounds, he wasn't the only one being forcibly restrained. It was maddening to hear the clamour unfolding, while being unable to see anything other than vague movements through the weave of the sack over his head. He heard Taichi's voice loudest, demanding that his phone be returned to him, and apparently Agumon, Tailmon and Patamon had chosen that moment to rebel, too. Koushiro cried out just once before falling silent.

"Silence!" barked a now-familiar voice. "You will gain nothing by struggling. If you make any further attempts to escape you will be brought down where you stand. Brecht, Darek, Mihalis - unhood the humans."

Takeru blinked as the hood was pulled from his head. The lights around him made his eyes water. Even the gloom of what turned out to be a tunnel through raw earth seemed bright after being unable to really see for so long. Nearby, he could see Taichi and Koushiro adjusting to the light as well. Agumon and Tailmon remained hooded, but he couldn't see the sack carrying his partner.

"Now, if you three would be so kind as to tell me what these… _things_  are, and why they started to make that noise? Some kind of tracking mechanism?"

The speaker was so short as to be tiny, wearing worn clothes in earthen colours. His face was littered with scars; the left side twisted into a mess, with a patch over his eye, while the right was raked with four parallel gouges down his cheek, with a fifth marking his jawline. He was probably one of the ugliest people Takeru had ever seen, but he seemed to command the respect of the mismatched gathering despite being not much taller than Agumon. In his hands he held Taichi and Koushiro's digivices, Taichi's phone, and Takeru's D3 and D-Terminal. If the situation hadn't been so tense, the sight of them piled precariously in his small hands might have been comical.

No one spoke. Takeru looked at Taichi, waiting for him to speak. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Koushiro doing the same. Taichi's attention, meanwhile, was locked on the small figure holding their various devices.

"They're not tracking devices," Taichi said at last. "They won't bring any harm to you. But I would like some assurance of safety for my friends before I start giving you any more information than that."

The small man twisted his mouth into what might have been either a scowl or a smile.

"Oh that's rich," he said, handing their devices to one of his companions. "You attack a member of my squad, and then have the gall to demand security for yourselves? How very  _human_  of you. Very well. If you won't speak, we have no choice. Someone else can do the questioning. Hood 'em again."

Just before the hood slipped over Takeru's head once more, he saw Taichi lurch sharply to the right, dodging his own blindfold. The rest had to be pieced together by sound alone.

"And what about  _my_  friends?" he heard Taichi say angrily. "I suppose you're going to tell me it wasn't your people who attacked us last night? Who-"

There was a soft thump, and Taichi grunted with pain. Takeru braced himself for another struggle, but the firm grip on his arms didn't waver at all. Their captors' leader spoke once more.

"Any more  _games_  from you, and you will regret your actions, understood?"

To judge by what he could hear, Taichi's response was to spit on the floor. Takeru winced at the sound of someone striking the older boy again. He felt completely powerless. What could any of them do? Nothing. He and Koushiro were in bad shape after their fall, and now none of their partners could digivolve. Surely Taichi had to see that it was better to co-operate for now? It would help none of them if he got himself beaten to a pulp.

There were no more sounds that he could decipher. Movement of some sort; that was all he could determine. After a minute or so, he felt the person restraining push him forward and he stumbled - then yelped as the hands gripping his arms hauled him upright again, managing to jar the wound on his shoulder in the process.

"Move," said a voice close to his ear.

He staggered as he was pushed once more, but managed to stay upright. Their captors drove them forward in what seemed an endless march. Takeru ached all over, from injuries and the exertion alike. The injury on his shoulder grew hotter and hotter as they marched, until it drew as much of his attention as the blisters on his face, rubbed raw by the sackcloth hood. He walked in near silent misery. No one spoke, and with only the vaguest sense of movement from through the weave of the material, he began to feel smothered by the stale air and sense of claustrophobia.

How long would they be forced onwards like this? It had to be getting on for several hours since they had been captured - the growing emptiness in his stomach attested to that. They were still in the same tunnel, too - he could feel the unevenness of the ground as he walked. Every now and then stones would dig into the underside of his feet, which already burned from the seemingly endless march.

Now and again he would hear muffled sounds from the others, mostly after the sporadic demands from their captors to "Keep moving!" Occasionally he could hear Patamon's grumbling from the sack he was being carried in, or Tailmon's hiss of irritation. Taichi remained silent for the most part, as did Agumon, but Koushiro seemed to be struggling if the regular pained yelps were anything to go by. The longer they walked, the more bitterly Takeru regretted ever telling anyone that Patamon had de-digivolved while they were both still in the air. If he'd just kept quiet, Koushiro wouldn't have asked him to talk about it, and they wouldn't have been yanked back into all  _this_.

With nothing else to distract him as they marched, Takeru couldn't help but stew on things. After all, there was no letup. Nothing to see, no one to talk to. No company save his own thoughts, despite the fact that he was technically surrounded. The hunger pangs had come and gone, leaving him to wonder just how long this forced march had - or would - take. He started to stumble more, making his guard haul him upright by the arm time after time. From what he could hear, the others were faring much the same.

Finally, long after he had thought he could take no more, they halted. He sank to his knees while somewhere in front of him there was a metallic clang, followed by a grating of stone. The hand gripped his upper arm once more and hauled him to his feet, eliciting a groan. After a few steps he tripped on an unexpected step in front of him, landing hard. With his hands bound, he took the brunt of the fall on his left shoulder, arm, and the side of his head, having tried to turn in mid-air. Pain erupted down that arm and in his toes, and he cried out in pain.

Somewhere above, he heard a snort of laughter. It took every ounce of his restraint not to lash out with his legs and try to kick whoever it was - most likely the person who had been hauling him upright through their march along the tunnel.

Someone grunted. "Pick him up and get moving. The sooner we're rid of them, the sooner we can head to the mess hall."

Takeru bit back a whimper as rough hands hauled him upright again, jarring his shoulder. He could feel a growing dampness around it. Apparently Jou's bandage had finally soaked through.

The remainder of their journey was utterly disorienting. They were led along winding corridors, and down a flight of irregular steps which even their captors seemed to recognise posed a risk of injury, as they were advised to be careful and feel for their footing. The lights were far brighter than those in the tunnel, and there was a hum of noise and activity. At last their bonds were slashed, and their hoods pulled off. Takeru's eyes were still watering from the light when he was pushed into a small room. Someone threw a sack which squeaked with Patamon's voice in afterwards, before logs rose out of the floor to block the six of them in.

Patamon wriggled out of the sack and staggered over to Takeru, who sat down and pulled his partner into his lap. He leant back against the wall, then sat up straight again as the pressure on his back jarred the bruises and the wound on his shoulder. Everything hurt. He closed his eyes and hung his head, hugging Patamon and revelling in the fact he could breathe freely again. After a minute or so he looked around.

The room was clearly a prison cell of some sort, although he had never seen its like. The bars locking them in were slender logs which rose from floor to ceiling. Tailmon was attempting to squeeze between them without success. There was a rough bed on a stone shelf in the back of the room, where Koushiro sat, his face grey. Taichi was inspecting his injured wrist. Agumon was slumped against the wall opposite Takeru, evidently exhausted.

Taichi sighed. "Well, there's nothing more we can do for it right now, Koushiro, but I don't like the looks of this. It's pretty swollen."

That morning - or afternoon, it was getting increasingly difficult to remember which was which - Koushiro would have protested that he was fine. He  _had_  protested that he was fine, in fact. Now he simply sat and nodded once, staring off vacantly into space. He didn't even question what sort of place they were in. If ever Takeru had needed a sign that Koushiro was in bad shape, this was it.

Tailmon gave up her attempts to fit between the bars, and sat down with her back to them, resting her chin on one hand.

"There has to be a way we can get out of here," she said.

To their collective surprise, it was Koushiro who spoke. "Of course we can get out of the cell. The bars are only made of wood. Agumon could burn them easily while the rest of us gathered back here out of the way. Of course, then we'd be lost in the middle of an unknown prison which is probably underground - and at least half of our group are in no shape to walk, let alone fight our way out against an unknown but doubtless numerous amount of guards who are more than capable of apprehending us. Face it. We need to rest, and we need to eat. Escape can come when we've done both."

"He's right," Taichi said grimly. "I want out as much as anyone - and I want to find Hikari as much as  _you_  do Tailmon - but it's not going to help her if we make a break for it right now. We're in no shape to help anyone like this."

Tailmon perked up an ear, and turned to face out into the corridor beyond the bars. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" Takeru asked, changing the cross of his legs to stop his foot going numb.

"I thought I heard someone moving," she replied.

"Well, they said they were going to question us," Patamon said. "Maybe it's a guard?"

"I don't think it really matters," Taichi said, sitting down beside his partner. "I don't see what we can tell them if it  _is_  a guard. The last lot weren't exactly open to reason."

Agumon lifted his head. "Maybe it's someone with some food? I'm starving."

Despite everything, Takeru felt himself smiling. At least there were some things which never changed.

* * *

_Sunday, 11:45pm_

Ken stretched. His back was stiff and sore from having hunched over his laptop for the last few hours. It wouldn't have been so bad, he told himself, had he at least a little more to show for his efforts. As it was, he and Miyako had managed to translate all of two paragraphs from the document Gennai had found, before Miyako had bowed out for the night and fallen asleep on the sofa.

He didn't blame her for being tired, of course. By all accounts, she had been awake late into the night, and then up early in the morning, trying to reassure the Yagamis that Hikari would be okay. Still, he could have used the help. Even having transferred much of the relevant information off of Koushiro's laptop so that he could read them at his own pace, it was slow going, and none of the others were able to help. Jou was too worried about everything, and Mimi and Daisuke were…the wrong people to ask. Tentomon might have been some help had Koushiro been around, but as it was he might as well have been a second Jou, worrying endlessly about the silence from the trio of Chosen in the other world.

It had been more than three hours now since Miyako had sent a message to Taichi and Takeru, telling them about Sora's disappearance. They had all debated how much to tell them, and finally whittled it down to the bare facts, and that they hoped to have more news soon. And then…nothing. No response. The minutes had ticked by, and it had become increasingly apparent that something must have happened.

Ken had been surprised at how well Mimi had managed to keep the parents calm. Of course, he was still getting to know the older girl, really. His interactions with her had been few and far between all the while she had lived in America. Now she was sat at the dining table with Mrs Takaishi and Mr Yagami, still reassuring them that everything would work out fine. Mrs Yagami had retired to her bedroom a little while ago.

Jou sat with Daisuke, talking about what Daisuke was to do in case of various unlikely emergencies. He was nodding tiredly as he spoke, and more than once Gomamon had suggested that he lie down. Jou had refused.

It was no good. There was something in the atmosphere - an air of exhaustion perhaps - which utterly prevented his ability to focus. He pushed the laptop away with a sigh, and stood up. Heads turned in his direction.

"I, ah, need to stretch my legs," he said sheepishly. "There's still no word from Gennai other than that he's seeking an audience with Qinglongmon, to know if they have anything."

Guilt nagged at him. People were  _relying_  on him to translate the document which still made so little sense; to find, somehow, a way to bring everyone home. So far all he could tell them was that it was a copy of a much older document, and said something about there being many worlds - which he had told them already, and wasn't news in any case. Mimi had shuddered when he mentioned it, and said that Gennai had told them that fact years ago.

It was good to walk around the apartment for a bit, even if he was only pacing back and forth by the sofas. He could feel his back relaxing as he stretched and moved. While he wasn't a stranger to late nights sat at a computer, he was normally better at giving himself regular breaks to prevent cramps and eyestrain. Of course, normally the lives of his friends weren't at stake. No one was going easy on themselves at the moment. He could see Mimi and Jou both yawning, struggling to stay awake after their long days.

Wait. Something struck him as a little odd about that. Jou had been up early, he'd admitted that much - and he'd been tired still from his earlier involvement. But Mimi hadn't even fully known what was going on until earlier that day. It was late, certainly, but Mimi often stayed up late to chat to some of her American friends on the weekends. He looked at the clock and frowned. It was also close to midnight.

Jou's voice had trailed off at about the point when Ken had got to his feet. Now he watched the older boy rub an eye sleepily, not appearing to notice that the movement left his glasses skewed. Daisuke had apparently realised something wrong as well, to judge from the slightly worried expression he shot in Ken's direction. They both turned almost simultaneously to look at Mimi, who was yawning again. Her head nodded, as though she were about to fall asleep where she sat.

"I'll wake Miyako up," Daisuke said quietly, as Gomamon nudged his partner sharply. Jou flinched and sat up sharply, but sagged down again almost immediately.

Mrs Takaishi seemed to have worked out what was going on. She had stood, and was encouraging Mimi to get to her feet.

"We need to get her to lie down," she said, turning to Mr Yagami. "Is it okay if I take her into Taichi or Hikari's room?"

"Hikari's room would be best, I think," Ken said quickly. " I mean, if that's okay. It's just that if -  _when_  - the others come back, so far Taichi's room is where they've all vanished. So it could get rather crowded in there."

Mr Yagami nodded, and stood too, helping to guide Mimi into the bedroom. She seemed to be falling asleep while still upright. Palmon followed closely behind.

"Jou! Jou, are you awake?"

Ken turned at the sound of Gomamon's voice. Jou had slumped against the sofa, his glasses askew. Gomamon was prodding him and getting no response.

"Is that normal?" Tentomon asked, hovering above him.

"Well how should I know?" Gomamon replied with uncharacteristic sharpness.

Miyako - having been prodded into wakefulness by Daisuke - sat up and looked at the clock. "You should move back," she said groggily. "It's midnight soon. That's when it'll start, if it's going to."

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah, Takeru fell asleep kinda like this yesterday. We couldn't wake him up, and then at midnight, it was like…like this black cloudy stuff appeared out of nowhere, and he vanished."

"But you don't think that Jou or Mimi will disappear, am I correct?" Ken asked.

They both shook their heads. Ken frowned. It was one thing to be told about everything that was going on - and a part of him couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't told him  _sooner_  - but quite another to be faced with the reality. And the reality was that Jou had just fallen asleep, as had Mimi, both more or less at the same time. There was nothing at all natural about that. He rubbed his eyes. No wonder Miyako had taken a nap earlier - staring at the laptop all evening was making his eyes grow heavy. Which was odd, because normally he found it all too easy to stay up late while studying on his computer.

He stifled a yawn. Perhaps getting back to work would help. There was nothing much else that he could do, really. Besides. They needed answers.

"Jou!"

Gomamon had leapt up onto the sofa, and launched himself at his partner. Before anyone could stop him, he had landed, and the shadowy clouds which were billowing around Jou engulfed him as well. From Hikari's room, they heard Palmon cry out for Mimi.

Ken gaped. There was something decidedly unpleasant about the sudden, silent way the clouds had appeared. It was like nothing he had ever seen, and yet - something about the clouds seemed almost  _familiar_  somehow. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. That had to be his imagination. He was just tired. Beside him, Daisuke sighed.

"I guess now we just have to wait, right?"

"Right," Miyako replied, grabbing Daisuke by the arm and yanking him away from Jou. "And no touching them, either. Come on, Ken. We should get back to work."

* * *

_Sunday 11:55pm_

Without their digivices, phones, or Takeru's D-Terminal, there was no way to tell exactly how long they had been sat in the prison cell. Tailmon remained by the bars, her ears pricking now and then when she heard movement.

Taichi was dozing against the wall opposite Takeru. Agumon sat beside his partner, propping him up. Koushiro, by unspoken agreement, remained on the cell's bed. Takeru was fairly sure that he couldn't have lain down even if he wanted to - he hadn't mentioned the wound on his shoulder to the others, but even the brush of fabric over it if he moved was enough to make him wince. At least the bleeding appeared to have stopped once more now that he wasn't moving. His whole shoulder felt uncomfortably warm, as did the blisters on his face.  _Jou would have a fit_ , he thought.

Patamon had recovered enough to fly up and inspect every inch of their prison, although there was nothing of any use to them. It was a small, plain room, with no windows or lamps. The only light came through the bars from a source off to one side, making the far side dim and shadowy.

They had sat in silence for the most part. After all, what was there to say? They were all exhausted, and his and Koushiro's injuries only compounded that tiredness. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure if Koushiro was even awake. When had the others last slept properly?

Tailmon's ears twitched again, and she stood up.

"What is it?" Takeru asked, speaking softly.

She frowned, and shook her head. "Someone keeps trying to sneak up on us. They get so far, but then turn around and run off again." She hissed with apparent frustration.

"Maybe they're just checking up on us? I mean, once they see that the bars are still intact they don't need to get closer. We're not going anywhere." He sighed. "And everyone at home will have realised that something happened to us by now. Some rescue party we are. I hope Hikari and Yamato are okay."

There was a soft  _thump_  from somewhere in the hallway outside. Tailmon flinched, and turned, pressing herself against the bars to try and see what was going on. Patamon flew out of Takeru's lap and did the same. Takeru sat upright, wincing at the stiffness in his back. For a moment the three of them remained almost motionless, save for the flapping of Patamon's wings. Then there was the unmistakable sound of footsteps growing closer. They were soft, and light, and when the figure came into view Takeru realised why. It was just a child. A child with large, moth-like wings sprouting out of her back. She regarded them with eyes as wide as his own.

"Did…did you say "Hikari"?" she asked.

The effect of her words was instantaneous. Tailmon gripped the bars tightly enough that her claws bit into the wood, and Takeru lurched forwards onto his hands and knees, wincing as he did so.

"Where is she!" Tailmon cried furiously, waking Taichi with a start. "Where is Hikari!"

"Hikari?" Taichi said, rubbing his eyes and staring at their visitor. "She's here? Where?"

The child - she looked to be no more than seven or eight - backed up, her wings fluttering.

"She… she was here a while ago. She was just in the cell down the hall. Are you her friends? And… are you Tailmon? She asked where you were."

Tailmon's eyes widened. " _Was_  here? Where is she now?"

The girl shrugged. "I know she was going to talk to the Elders, but that was hours ago. I guess she wasn't trespassing after all if they didn't send her back here. I only watch the prisoners."

"But you're just a  _child_ ," came Koushiro's voice from the back of the cell.

The girl folded her arms and pouted. "Am not." She frowned. "So you  _are_  Tailmon."

Tailmon nodded. "Hikari is my partner. I need to know where she is."

"We all do," Taichi said. "She's my sister. Can you…could you find out where she is?"

"Nuh-uh. You're  _prisoners_. That means I can't tell you anything."

"But… you just told us about Hikari," Patamon said, settling on the ground beside Takeru.

The girl took a breath as though to talk, and then stopped. "Well I meant to do that," she said at last. "I was  _questioning_  you. Like the Elders will."

Taichi sighed heavily. "Just what we need," he muttered, so softly that Takeru almost didn't hear him. "Some weird kid wandering around pretending she's important."

Takeru shook his head. Whether or not the child was going to tell them anything more, this was a good development, surely? Hikari was somewhere nearby, even if they didn't know  _where_  exactly. Admittedly they were in no shape to stage a rescue yet, and they didn't have their digivices even if they managed to break out, but they were all alive, and certainly they had been in worse situations before. He tried not to think about the fact that at least in those worst situations their partners had been able to digivolve.

Tailmon's ears twitched once more, at the same instant as the girl turned to look in the direction she had appeared from. A second later they all heard the footsteps - harder, heavier ones. The girl leapt into the air, her wings turning to a rich brown blur as she flew out of sight. They heard her voice a moment later, nearby and almost breathless with apparent excitement:

"Minka! I was waiting here like Alwyn said, and they brought in those new prisoners so I was watching them like before, and then I heard them say Hikari's name, and one of them is her brother and there's the cat Alwyn saw disappear before too!"

"What?" a new voice said sharply. The footsteps started again, and a second or so later a new figure appeared on the far side of the bars. She was human - or looked it, at least. Takeru didn't want to make any assumptions at this point. She wore what looked like armour of some sort, made of leather, and had dark hair pulled back from a stern face.

"Who are you, and what business have you in the Forest?" she said, folding her arms.

She was tall, Takeru realised. As Taichi got to his feet with a grunt, it became apparent that she had to be the same height as Jou, if not taller. She stared down at Taichi with a grim expression on her face. Tailmon moved to stand beside Taichi, watching her warily.

Taichi folded his arms as well. "Like I told you people earlier, I want some assurance that my friends will be safe before I tell you anything," he said. "Two of my group are injured, and none of us have had anything to eat or drink since we were rounded up and forcibly marched here blindfolded -  _hours_  ago. Not to mention the fact that our things have been taken away, including medical supplies which we  _need_. Give me one good reason why I should just co-operate with you."

It was moments like this, Takeru thought, that Taichi really proved himself a born leader. Gone was his carefree attitude, pushed aside by the need to look out for his friends. His  _team_. He met the woman's eyes defiantly, and held her gaze through a long silence. Finally, she sighed and looked away, turning to the girl.

"Nonie, shoo. Go fetch yourself something to eat."

The girl folded her arms again. "But what about Alwyn? Where is he?"

"On a mission," the woman replied. "Now  _go_."

She watched as the girl pouted, then turned and flew out of sight. After a second or two she turned back to the cell, levelling her stern gaze at Taichi once more.

"You will co-operate," she said, as though there had been no interruption, "because I am required to introduce those brought before the Elders. And if you don't co-operate, I'll have to get one of the Fae down here to interrogate you, and frankly, I don't want to have to do that. You won't like it at all, trust me. I can make no offers of treatment or security; it's not my job. That's up to the Elders. But they are not unreasonable, and they have already welcomed one former prisoner with honours today. Apparently they're in a good mood."

Takeru felt his heart hammering in his chest. To judge from Taichi's face, he wasn't the only one. Surely she could only be talking about Hikari?

Tailmon hissed with frustration.

"Where is Hikari now?" she snapped. "We know you have her here somewhere."

The woman sighed. "As I have told you," she said. "I can tell you nothing. I have taken my vows of service to the City. But I bear you no ill-will. Truly, I would be saddened if I were forced to call for one of the Fae."

"Why?" Koushiro said, making everyone turn to look at him. "What is it about these "Fae" that's so bad?"

"You don't  _know_?" came the reply. "The Fae are…they will extend their will into your minds and  _make_  you tell all you know. Only a very few are able to resist - and none of those few are human. You have a choice. Speak willingly and retain the privacy of your minds, or unwillingly with no will of your own to hold back secrets. I do you a kindness by giving you this warning, as one human to another."

Takeru shuddered. This world just kept getting worse and worse. Looking down, he saw Patamon watching him with a worried expression on his face, and tried to force a smile. It didn't work.

"Very well," Taichi said, his voice cold. "Seeing as we have no real choices here: I am Yagami Taichi, and my companions are Tailmon, Agumon, Izumi Koushiro, Takaishi Takeru, and Patamon. We were in the forest because we were looking for my sister, Yagami Hikari, who was kidnapped in front of Tailmon a day ago.

The woman nodded once. "And do you claim the title of Chosen Children? I warn you, there is no purpose to lying. The Elders will know if you speak untruths."

Takeru gaped. When Taichi didn't answer, he realised he obviously wasn't alone.

Koushiro grunted and Takeru looked round in time to see him try to stand, then sit back heavily on the bed, wincing.

"Taichi," he said, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat. "There's only one way they'd know that," he said quietly.

"I know," Taichi replied. He turned to the woman, his eyes cold.

"Yes, we are," he said venomously. "And if I find out that one of your… _Fae_  got hold of my sister to tell you that-"

The woman shook her head. "I can tell you nothing, because of my vow," she said. "But the Elders have the answers you seek. I shall fetch your escort."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was both super hard and super fun to write. I kinda struggled with Ken's perspective, so hopefully it's IC. It's not a perspective I think I'll be using a huuuge amount, if I'm honest. The end though... that started to run away with me. I've ended it where I did because it was getting a little out of hand, and yet I didn't want to cut it back, because while unplanned, I think that section with Minka is kinda necessary. This isn't my "What's going on?" fic, after all (I have Metanoia for that), and I do want the reader to understand the world. Also, dramatic irony. I love it.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It lives! Good grief, this chapter took so long to write. Pretty much every time I sat down, something interrupted me. And then the scene which I thought would be a couple of thousand words managed to just keep going without any end in sight. Still. I made it at last, and here's the update! Part of me worries that there's a little slippage into OOC here, but honestly, this chapter really needed to happen either way, and I'm gonna lean heavily on "they're all friggen exhausted" for an excuse. Hopefully I managed to keep things mostly in check though. Please do give feedback if I've slipped up! (Or just generally. Feedback is always welcome and joyfully received!)
> 
> Now, it's November in a few days, and I'm taking on the role of ML for the first time, so I don't know when the next update will be. NaNo prep has actually been one of the factors delaying these updates recently, too. I will aim to get at least one chapter out during November (it'll help that I have some stuff already written which will hopefully slot into the next chapter), but as I've not ML'ed before, I don't know how much time I'll have. Fingers crossed though! I'm almost at the end of the first arc of the story, and I'm really looking forward to the next one!

The promised escort arrived a few minutes later. Looking at them, Takeru realised they were guards, armed with swords and spear-like weapons. They were in a range of styles, no two alike. He couldn't help feeling a little as though he'd stumbled onto some sort of film set. The digital world had never been normal by any stretch of the imagination, but it seemed to make fundamentally more sense than this place.

The wooden bars sank into the floor, and two of the guards stepped forwards. Both had sheathed swords slung on their belts, and rested one hand on the hilts.

"Out," said one of them, a man with narrow, translucent wings, and deep frown lines marking his brow. "You can claim whatever titles you want, but they don't count until the Elders confirm it, in my eyes. Far as I see it, you're dangerous, plain and simple. And mark my words. If you try and harm the Elders, you'll be the worse for it."

Takeru scooted Patamon off of his lap and into the air before bracing himself to stand. He made it a few inches off the ground before he fell back with a groan. Everything hurt, and now his legs were stiff from sitting on the floor to boot. If this wasn't the worst day of his life, it was a strong contender.

"Takeru, are you okay?" Patamon said, flying down and hovering in front of him.

"I'm…I don't think I can get up," he replied, sighing.

From the back of the cell he heard Koushiro stifle a groan. Apparently he wasn't alone. Even Taichi, although standing, was leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, we're  _real_  dangerous," Tailmon said, arms folded. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked up at the guard who had spoken.

Taichi straightened, and cleared his throat meaningfully. They turned to look at him.

"My friends are injured," he said tersely. "As am I. We have no intention of harming these "Elders" of yours, but if they really want to meet us so badly, don't you think they'd rather we were able to speak when we got there, instead of passing out? Do you treat  _all_  your prisoners like this?"

Takeru blinked. It was still jarring to see this side of Taichi, so different to his normal carefree and friendly self. He suspected the older boy wouldn't be satisfied until he was reunited with Hikari, and he could understand that all too well. The fact that they'd almost found her only served to remind him that Yamato was still missing - so far as they knew. He was trying as hard as he could not to get his hopes up about the message they'd both received. What if Yamato was back, just in time for the  _rest_  of them to have been captured?

The guards had retreated out of the cell, and were conferring amongst themselves. The woman - Takeru hadn't really been paying enough attention to remember her name - was talking in a fierce whisper, gesturing to them and to someone or something out of sight. Patamon landed on the floor beside him. Tailmon and Agumon were stood beside Taichi, all three of them watching the conversation, although Agumon's attention seemed to switch between the guards and Taichi himself.

Koushiro was sitting upright at least, although his eyes were downcast, and he seemed to be bracing himself on his uninjured arm. Takeru was pretty sure he had to be feeling the effects of their forced march hardest out of all of them. He'd had the least sleep, too, what with trying to find out as much as he could about what was going on. Collectively, they were a mess. Taichi was right. If they had to walk to whoever these Elders were, most likely they'd fall down before they even made it.

Someone marched into sight, carrying a bottle of some sort and a wooden cup. Takeru watched with growing unease as the woman took the cup and held it out as a dark crimson liquid was poured in. He couldn't help thinking that it looked an awful lot like blood.

The woman turned to the open cell door - still flanked by armed guards - and proffered the cup.

"Drink," she said. "This is a restorative which will bring vigour and dull pain. Until such time as the Elders permit you to see a healer it will suffice."

Taichi folded his arms.

"You expect me to just believe that? There could be anything in that cup. How do I know this isn't a trick?"

The woman sighed. "Believe my words or not; it is of no concern to me. But either you drink this, and have sufficient energy to walk to the Elders, or you elect to refuse it, in which case you will still walk to the Elders, only perhaps you will fall down before you reach them and be dragged the rest of the way. The decision is yours."

"Taichi," Koushiro said, making everyone turn to look at him. "I don't think it's a trick. I doubt they'd go to all this trouble if it was. They really don't need to."

From her position near the entrance of the cell, Tailmon snorted. "You got that right."

For a long moment, Taichi simply stared at her, frowning. No one else moved. Even Agumon hung back, although Takeru could see the tension radiating off of his body.

"I'll drink it," he found himself saying. "I…I'm not entirely sure I can stand up, otherwise."

Patamon flinched beside him. Taichi whirled on the spot and scowled at him.

"Like hell you will," he said, looking more scared than angry. "You don't  _touch_  this stuff until we know it's safe."

Turning back to the woman, Taichi held out a hand. "I'll go first," he said through gritted teeth.

To judge by the expression on Taichi's face, the liquid didn't have a pleasant taste. Still, there was no denying the fact that just a few seconds later, he was able to stand straighter. The woman held the cup out to the guard holding the bottle, not taking her eyes off Taichi's face, or looking round as the cup was refilled. Only when he nodded did she offer the cup to him once more.

Taichi was still frowning as he handed the cup to Takeru, who accepted it and downed the contents in one gulp. The taste was sharp and bitter, and made him gag. It lingered in the back of his throat, burning more than the wine he'd tried when his grandparents had come to stay some months ago. Shuddering, he handed the cup back.

Still, he had to admit, whatever it was seemed to be working. The exhaustion which had been dragging him down was easing a little, as were the aches and pains. He felt more alert - enough to notice Patamon's worried expression.

"I think I can manage without drinking that," his partner said.

Takeru smiled weakly, watching as the cup was refilled once more. "I don't think I blame you," he said.

Koushiro peered into the cup when it was handed to him. He seemed to be examining it for something.

"Would I be correct in assuming you won't tell us what is  _in_  this?" he said, looking up with a wary expression on his face.

The woman smiled thinly. "Trust me when I say that there are some things you are better off not knowing. Leave that answer to the thurgists and healers."

Koushiro sighed, but drank anyway. He shuddered as he lowered the cup. "Judging by the taste, I think I believe you."

The woman nodded. "And your familiars? Will they also require the restorative?"

Patamon shook his head, as did Tailmon. Taichi looked at Agumon, who was frowning thoughtfully.

"Might be an idea, Agumon," he said, looking down at his partner. "You've digivolved twice today already, and that was before the march. We could carry Patamon or Tailmon at a pinch, but you're a little big for that."

A fourth draught was duly poured out.

"Aurgh, that's  _terrible_!" Agumon cried, as he handed the cup back. "No way am I trying  _that_  again."

The woman smiled grimly. "So say many, and yet the demand for it is ever high. You are fortunate. Now. Follow me. Do not think to hang back, or our escort will be forced to encourage you."

Whatever the drink was, it had helped. Takeru found that he could stand and walk as though he'd had a far longer rest than had been the case, and his aches and pains seemed…not gone, but  _older_. The wound on his shoulder was still almost as bad though, as were the blisters and other assorted scrapes. Apparently it could only do so much. Koushiro, too, was nursing his wrist with the same care as he had been since they'd set out.

They were led from the prison cell along a different corridor to that which they had entered by. Takeru noticed the girl from earlier watching them as they passed a room off to one side. There was no time to see anything else in the room - the guard behind him cleared his throat meaningfully when Takeru turned to look.

Despite being underground already, they weren't led upstairs at any point. Instead, if anything they seemed to be going even lower, down passages which sloped gently but inexorably further into the earth. At last they halted in a room with two large, ornate doors before them, and a smaller door off to one side. Two more guards stood by the larger doors.

"Wait here," the woman said. She gestured to the chairs and benches arrayed along the sides of the room. "You may sit, while we await our audience."

Takeru sank gratefully onto a bench, letting Patamon settle on his lap. Even having drunk the "restorative" he was still worn out. Beside him, Taichi and Koushiro did the same. Agumon sat where he was, on the floor, while Tailmon remained standing, watching the guards around them intently.

The woman walked over to the guards by the door, and spoke quietly with them. They seemed to disagree at first, until the woman indicated Tailmon. Taichi stiffened, sitting upright on the bench.

"They're talking about Hikari," he said softly. "She was  _here_. In this same room."

"All the more reason not to lose your temper now," Koushiro said. "We're close to getting answers, so there's no sense angering the people who might be able to provide them."

"Easy for you to say," Taichi muttered.

At length, they were ushered towards the two doors, flanked on all sides by their armed escort. The woman walked ahead of them into a wide, high-ceilinged chamber, lit by flaming torches as opposed to the electric lights they had seen in the corridors. Broad pillars supported the ceiling, engraved with a repeating leaf pattern and painted in rich greens and grounds. Had they not spent so long travelling downward, Takeru would almost have believed them to be above ground again.

In front of them, on the far side of the room, sat a row of assorted people who Takeru supposed to be the elders, although most of them didn't look all that old. No two were alike, but that was something he had begun to get used to as well. Certainly it seemed as though humans were something of a rarity around here, even if they did all seem to be more humanoid than digimon.

They were brought to a halt by the two guards at the head of their escort, who crossed spears in front of them once they were a little over halfway into the room. The woman strode a few paces further, before bowing low.

"Stay alert," Taichi muttered. "I wouldn't put it past them to ambush us."

Takeru looked around uneasily as the woman announced their names to the assembly in front of them. Certainly there were plenty of places that someone could be hiding in the hall - the pillars were broad, and the flickering torchlight cast long shadows between them.

His attention was brought sharply back into focus when the woman mentioned Koushiro's name. Several of the elders stood immediately, and all of them seemed startled.

"We were given to understand that the Chosen Child of Knowledge was on Earth, not in this world," said one, a man whose legs ended in cloven hoofs. "Is there a means by which we may be sure that you are indeed who you claim to be?"

Koushiro started, while the others turned to stare at him. "Wait, how do you know that my crest is Knowledge? We didn't tell you that."

Taichi lurched forward. "Where's my  _sister_! If you've hurt Hikari, I swear-" He stopped his tirade abruptly when one of the guards swung their spear around, halting it just inches from his throat. Agumon took a step towards him, but halted when another guard levelled their spear at him.

"Halt!" the first guard said. "One wrong move and I strike."

"Peace, peace!" cried a female voice. Takeru looked round to see one of the elders flying towards them. Her wings were a translucent blur behind her, and she landed next to the guards, easing their spears aside. Close up, he realised that although she had the proportions of an adult, she was tiny - she barely reached his shoulder.

"My name is Maela. I am one of the Elders of the Forest City," she said, arms still outstretched. "And it would seem that there has been a confusion. We would no more harm the Chosen Child of Light than I would cut off my wings. Her coming - and yours - is a sign that the time of prophecy is at hand."

Taichi stared at her. "Prophecy," he said flatly. "There's a  _prophecy_? I thought we were finished with all that shit years ago."

"Never mind that!" Tailmon said. "Where's Hikari?"

Maela sighed. "Would that you had arrived earlier. Hikari departed the city several hours ago, accompanied by an armed guard to protect her on her journey. She seeks to return to Earth, as her…I believe she called it a "D-Terminal" has ceased to function and requires power from your world to restore it."

" _WHAT_?"

This time it was Koushiro who held Taichi back, gripping his shirt firmly with his good hand.

"Taichi, would you please calm down? We know that she's safe - that's more than we had an hour ago. Right now we need to focus on finding out what's going on."

Taichi clenched his fists, then sighed. "Fine," he said, through gritted teeth.

Takeru looked around to see how their escort was handling this exchange. Several of the guards had half drawn their swords; now they eased them slowly back into their scabbards and took a step back. It was a little unnerving to know how quick these people were with their weapons. A fact that was made worse by how vulnerable he felt without his D3.

Koushiro cleared his throat.

"I do hope you'll excuse our behaviour," he said to Maela, bowing. Takeru saw him wince as he stood straight again. "We have been very concerned about Yagami Hikari's whereabouts since her disappearance yesterday. And now you find us rather at a loss. You seem to know considerably more about us than we know of you. Are you able to explain why we are here, and what this prophecy you mention is?"

Maela nodded. "In truth, the prophecy is something we do not understand fully. It is more than a century since the Fates last walked freely in the world, and they are the custodians of the future. The most accurate transcripts of their words lie far from here, in the halls of the Grand Council. But all know of the Chosen, for it is foretold that you will dispel the corruption which has fallen over this land."

A man, who easily looked the oldest of the Elders, strode forwards.

"If you are truly the children who are Chosen, surely you will know the remainder of the Marks, and their number," he said, frowning. "Forgive me, but these are dark times, and we must be  _certain_  of your identity, particularly in light of your travelling companions."

Takeru shifted so that he stood between the man and Patamon.

"What do you mean?" he said. "What's wrong with our partners?"

Now a  _third_  person came forward. He was shorted even than Maela, and had thick, rather moth-like wings which hung low on his back.

"Peace, Sjarel," he said, speaking to the old man. He turned back to face Takeru. "I am Ithel, sometime spokesperson for the Elders. You must forgive Sjarel. The burdens of his people weigh heavy on him of late. Humans, being surface dwellers and scattered across the world, have fared especially poorly in these dark times."

"But  _we're_  human," Taichi said. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

Ithel nodded. "Indeed it does. And as you are the children who are Chosen, it is only to be expected that you bring allies, as this was foretold. However, you must understand that digimon number among the dark forces arrayed against us. Many of our people have fallen in battle with them. It was Hikari, the Chosen of Light who explained to my kinsman that digimon are not evil, but may fall prey to the same corruption which blights our world."

Koushiro nodded. "That does make sense," he said. "But if digimon have been coming here, I don't understand why nothing appears to be going wrong in the digital world. We've been monitoring it for over a year now, and we've not seen any signs of disturbance. Although, the presence of digimon would certainly go some way towards explaining why we're here. As Taichi mentioned, this isn't the first time we've been mentioned in a prophecy of some sort."

"And we're not evil, or corrupted," Tailmon said, folding her arms. "But we do fight back if we're attacked."

"Takeru was attacked by someone riding a giant black bird," Taichi said. "He was shot at and wounded. And another one of those things attacked my partner while we were flying to meet Takeru and Koushiro. We haven't exactly had a lot of positive encounters so far."

Maela sighed. "In times of war, miscommunication can be the greatest evil of all. The foe which attacked you was likely one of the great crows. They are often steeds for goblin archers, or others of their ilk. Many of the beast races have fallen prey to the growing darkness. Once, our city lay above ground, but few now dare to venture to the surface. Great peril lies there. It is the same in all lands. More recently, the land itself has become corrupted, and the digimon have appeared, allying themselves with our foes. The prophecy made by the Fates is poorly remembered, but we know it speaks of the children who are Chosen, and their ability to purge the corruption with Marks. Hikari named these Marks as crests."

Koushiro nodded slowly. "Ahh. And at some point she mentioned  _me_ , because she thought I was still on Earth. Until I ended up here, I was working to translate some information from the digital world which might give us some information about what's been going on." He sighed. "Well, you already know that I have the Crest of Knowledge. Taichi has the Crest of Courage, and Takeru has the Crest of Hope."

One of the other Elders - a woman who seemed to be a walking tree - cleared her throat. "The Child of Hope is here?"

Takeru felt a sudden wash of unease as almost every pair of eyes in the room turned on him. Patamon flew into the air and hovered in front of him.

"What do you want with Takeru?" his partner said.

The woman slowly inclined her head. Her movements reminded Takeru of a tree's branches swaying in the breeze. "Hope and Light are mentioned more specifically in the prophecy," she said. "It has been many, many years since last I heard the Fates speak, but I do remember that those two, above and beyond the rest of the nine, have a part to play."

Taichi, who had turned a somewhat worried expression towards Takeru while she spoke, now whirled around to face her, holding up his hands. "Now hold on a minute.  _Nine_? When we were pulled into the digital world to save it, it was just the eight of us. Seven at first. And even if you count the younger Chosen Children, that makes twelve."

"There are only nine Crests though," Koushiro said. "The others have their Digimentals, but of the younger ones, just Ken has a Crest of his own…of course! No  _wonder_  Hikari is trying to get back. If she knows this too, she'll want to warn him. "

Takeru stayed quiet. He wasn't entirely sure he liked the way the tree-woman was still staring at him, and if the conversation could be steered to other matters, so much the better. Besides, the boost of energy he'd gotten from the vile-tasting restorative seemed to be ebbing, and with every ebb the various pains it had suppressed were returning too. He could see Koushiro starting to sag slightly, although apparently having a new theory to work with was giving the older boy something akin to a natural adrenaline rush.

"Why would there need to be a warning?" Maela said, resting her hands on her hips.

Taichi snorted. "Well, the fact that we've all been attacked, injured, and then captured by people who more or less dragged us here would be a good start."

"There's also the fact that Ken's partner is not on Earth at the moment, so far as any of us know. He's in the digital world," Koushiro said. "And this world is proving to be very hazardous. It would be safest if he were able to fetch his partner before whatever it is that pulls us across takes hold."

Takeru shuddered. He didn't want reminders. He was safe on the ground - safe  _below_  the ground, even - so there was no reason to feel the whip of the wind against him, or to hear the rushing roar of the air as he fell-

"Takeru!"

Patamon's voice cut through his growing panic, rooting him in the room. He flinched, and looked up to find everyone staring at him again, this time with assorted expressions of concern.

"I'm fine," he said, although his traitor voice managed to have just enough of at tremor to it to make the lie fall flat.

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Bullshit Takeru, you're… Oh shit, your shoulder! Why didn't you say something!"

Takeru blinked, not sure what Taichi meant. Belatedly, he looked down to his right shoulder, and saw that the sleeve of his shirt was stained with blood, which showed up even against the dark green material. Pain flared when he tried to twist in order to see the site of the wound, making him yelp. Amongst his other assorted injuries, he hadn't felt it start to bleed again beneath the bandages. It had stopped by the time they'd left their cell; apparently the walk to the Elders, with his ability to sense pain dulled by the restorative, had been enough to open it up yet again.

"It's…not so bad," he said, mostly to reassure Patamon, who was hovering beside him wearing a concerned expression. "Honestly, it looks worse than it is. Jou cleaned it out earlier, remember? It's just that the bandages didn't hold up so well."

Maela frowned, looking from him to Koushiro, and shaking her head briskly. "Forgive us. We ought to have tended your injuries sooner. Unfortunately, we can take no chances. To allow one of the enemy to roam free in the healers' quarters would be to court disaster." She turned to the other Elders. "Is there any who would disagree that these children are the Chosen, and that their companions are the allies mentioned in the prophecy?"

There was a low murmuring, but none of the assorted elders spoke up. The old man who had been introduced as Sjarel scowled at them - or more specifically, the digimon - but stayed silent too.

"What about Hikari?" Taichi said, as Maela gestured for the guards to leave. "You're telling me you just sent her packing? Where did she go?"

Ithel nodded. "She elected to return to the mountains east of here, in the company of some of our best scouts. Her D-Terminal had ceased to function, and she informed us that the only way to "charge" it would be to return to Earth in search of something called batteries."

Taichi blanched. "And you  _let_  her? Do you even know what you sent her off to do?"

To Takeru's surprise, it was Sjarel who spoke.

"We have a greater knowledge than even she," he said. "The beast she mentioned is known to us, as is the precise method by which she may return to Earth. It was not a decision made lightly, by ourselves or the Chosen of Light. And indeed, we have sent ample guards to defend her from all harm."

"But if Hikari is safe, she won't go back to Earth at all," Tailmon said slowly. "So…what's the catch?"

"She does not know of the measures we have put in place to protect her," Maela said flatly. "There is too much at stake to jeopardise the life of one of the Chosen, but we cannot shelter you from the task you were chosen  _for_. Hikari believes that returning to Earth is the best means by which she may advance our cause, and so we made certain that she would be safe, yet not so safe that she would be unafraid. The beast which dwells in the caves bordering the forest is fearsome to behold, and very dangerous, but it has a great love of diamonds and can be reasoned with. Hikari's guards carry sufficient payment to spare her should she be unable to return to Earth."

"It has been several hours since the Chosen of Light departed this city," Ithel said. "No doubt she nears the forest's edge even as we speak. She is in no real danger; please, allow our healers to attend to your wounds, and accept refreshment."

Takeru was pretty sure that Taichi remained unconvinced. Hell, Takeru  _himself_  wasn't. The thought of Hikari willingly putting herself in harm's way to get a message back to Earth made him feel ill. Of course, it was also  _exactly_  the sort of thing she would do, if it had a chance of helping.

Taichi's fists were clenched, and his jaw was tight with what Takeru recognised as serious anger. In fact, there was every likelihood that Taichi would have leapt forward to strike Ithel, had Koushiro not staggered at that moment, nearly falling down before steadying himself again. His face was ashy. Evidently his adrenaline rush was running out.

Maela gestured to a guard, who ran forward to support Koushiro. She was tiny - not much taller than Agumon, in fact - but hovered in the air on a pair of transparent wings, and supported Koushiro's weight on her shoulder without any apparent difficulty. Koushiro looked too exhausted to even notice.

Agumon rested a hand on Taichi's leg, looking up at his partner. "I think we have to trust them," he said.

Tailmon nodded. "Much as I don't like it, I agree. She's too far away for us to help her now. And she's faced this monster every night for a week now without it getting her." She turned to the Elders. "But you have to give them their phones and digivices back. Otherwise Hikari won't be able to contact us when she gets home."

"We shall have them brought to the healers' quarters," Ithel said. "Now please, let me escort you there, before your friend falls down and must be carried."


	25. Chapter 25

_Monday, 12:15am_

With nothing else to do on the long hike back to the mountains, Hikari had found herself talking to the fairies. It was more than a little strange, to begin with - not least of all because the definition seemed to encompass a far wider range of creatures than she had thought. Lilimon was a fairy-type digimon, after all. She'd always assumed that fairies fitted into that general sort of appearance. And then it had turned out that almost half her guard called themselves fairies, despite the fact that they all looked rather different to each other, and a large portion of them seemed to have no wings at all.

"It's more of a catch-all term, really," Alwyn had explained. "In ancient times, things were more distinct, but the people of the Forest have lived amongst each other for so long that we have begun to merge into one people. Only the Fae keep to themselves, and the humans are…different."

Hikari wasn't entirely sure that his answer really made sense, but she thought it was probably a little rude to say so. Besides, Alwyn was going to have to explain everything to Koushiro, so it didn't seem fair to make him go on about it twice. Instead, they talked about digimon, and some of the adventures the Chosen Children had had in the digital world.

Alwyn seemed to take it all in his stride - although the concept of computers and the nature of the digital world intrigued him as much as it did the rest of their travelling companions. Hikari tried and failed to explain what the internet was. He just couldn't get his head around the idea of it. Given the level of technology this world seemed to have, Hikari supposed that it wasn't so surprising, really. They had electricity in the Forest City, but seemed to only use it for lighting, and even then, half of the corridors were equipped with flaming torches. She hadn't seen anything even remotely approaching a computer.

She was tired by the time they reached the forest's edge, although not sleepy. Apparently she'd slept long enough after being knocked out that she was starting to adjust to the time in this world. It had to be the middle of the night back on Earth by now.

"Here we must turn to your guidance," Alwyn said, as they emerged from the thicker growth at the forest's edge, and found themselves facing a steep cliff littered with caves. "It would be best if you can remember which cave you ventured into before, but I believe they are all connected, so we shall be able to continue if you can't."

Hikari swallowed nervously. Announcing that she was perfectly okay with going back to the caves of - quite literally - her nightmares had been fine from the safety of the Forest City. Faced with the prospect of having to walk into them now, she wasn't so sure. Every fibre of her being itched to turn and run. She didn't want to do this. Didn't want to face the beast which lurked somewhere inside them.

"I…I think it's this way," she said, forcing her fears to the back of her mind. She had to do it, after all. The others needed her, and the information she had. And she would be useless without her D3 and D-Terminal anyway. There really wasn't any other option.

The whole group seemed to pick up on the need for quiet as they walked along the rocky scree at the base of the cliffs. The only sounds were those of their footsteps, and the faint clanking of the weapons slung on the backs of their guards. She wished that Tailmon was with her. It just didn't feel right to be in a place like this and not have her partner around. Despite the company, the abrupt change in geography from dense forest to mountain slopes felt a lot like the digital world. She expected digimon to leap out at them any moment. That they actually  _might_  only made her nerves worse. It was a small comfort to think that she might not even make it into the cave before appearing back on Earth. If she disappeared now, would Alwyn manage to grab her in time to go as well? What would they think if she just disappeared without him?

"There," she said at last, recognising an opening. "It's this one, I'm sure of it."

The group halted before the cave entrance, standing in a loose semi-circle around it with Hikari and Alwyn in the centre.

"Well," Alwyn said, looking to one of the guards. "I believe that this is where we part company. If all goes well, we shall return this night."

The captain of the guard nodded. "We shall make camp under the forest eaves," she said. "Aldith will keep us concealed. I will caution you though - should you not return by the second hour past midnight, we must make our return to the City. We take chance enough as it is."

Alwyn nodded. "Fair tidings," he said, before turning to Hikari. "Are you ready?"

She shook her head. "Not really. But I suppose that doesn't matter. I have to go anyway, don't I."

"If there were any other way for you to return, we would use it," Alwyn said. "But we can think of none, and your D-Terminal will be invaluable in locating the other Chosen Children."

Hikari bit her lip. Even knowing that she had no choice, she didn't want to go in that cave. None of her travelling companions had spoken of what waited inside it, but she'd caught some of them exchanging nervous glances. It wasn't encouraging.

"Alwyn," she said hesitantly. "Do…do you know what it is? The thing that's in there?"

He sighed. "I do. But you know I cannot speak of it."

She nodded. "I know. But if…  _when_  I get back home, will you tell me then?"

"I think I can agree to that."

She forced herself to smile. "Well. I suppose we'd better get on with it then. You'll have to stay close though. You need to be touching me to be taken along too."

One of the guards passed them an unlit torch. "You'll need this, most likely," he said. "For when you return."

They stowed the torch in the knapsack Alwyn carried, and walked to the cavern entrance. The others hung back, visibly nervous. Hikari's stomach knotted with fear. Suddenly this plan seemed so much more dangerous than it had before. What if she wasn't scared enough to go back? What if Alwyn was separated from her, and didn't go too? Would he be killed? Or worse - what if she somehow brought whatever monster it was in the cave back to Earth with her?

Normally, she would have tried to push the thoughts away. But she needed them now. It was strange, though. The more she accepted how frightened she was, the more her fear seemed to fade. She found herself taking one step forward, then another. This had to be done. She had to try.

"Hikari."

She stopped. Alwyn was holding out his hand.

"Perhaps it's best for us to go hand in hand. It will be dark inside and, ah, I confess, I have no wish to be left behind."

She was glad of the contact, as the darkness swallowed them both. The air in the cave was rancid, and the ground slippery underfoot. Each footstep echoed, and she could hear faint drips somewhere in the dark. The light of the world outside faded as they walked deeper, until it was just a glow behind them, not illuminating any of the inky darkness ahead. They went slowly, taking care not to lose their footing on the uneven floor.

They had walked a few hundred yards into the cavern when Hikari almost tripped on something which rattled and clattered as it was knocked out of her path.

She shrieked, then winced at the echoes she had set off.  _Stupid_ , she thought.  _It's just a stone, or something like that_.

Neither of them moved. For a moment all she could hear was the uneven huff of their breathing. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest. She couldn't remember the last time she had been in such complete darkness.

_Crrrrunch_.

The sound came from up ahead. Hikari closed her eyes, although it didn't make that much difference. She was terrified. Why wasn't it working? Why hadn't she gone back home? She'd been scared the whole journey, why was she still here in the cave?

"It's in front of us," Alwyn said, his voice a faint murmur.

She couldn't move. Her eyes opened again, and she stared into the darkness. Her fear seemed to have evaporated, leaving her calm and emotionless. Idly, she wondered if this meant that she was going to die. If she couldn't feel scared any more, then she wouldn't get home. No one would know what had happened to her. She'd never see her brother again, or her parents, or Tailmon.

Her eyes stung, and overflowed with tears. This wasn't how it was meant to work at all. She needed to go  _home_ , needed to warn the others that they had to save another world. If she died here in the dark, could the world even be saved? What if they needed her? What if they needed the Crest of Light?

_I'm the Child of Light, and here I am in a dark cave. Is that why I can't feel anything?_

_Light_. It bloomed inside of her, brimming outward and illuminating the passage they stood in. She opened her eyes and saw the cave walls and floor around her, lit by the faint glow coming from the centre of her chest. Jagged rocks slick with moisture, and a floor littered with off-white objects which were…which were  _bones_. She looked up, and blinked. The creature that stared back at her looked like an  _elephant_ , of all things. What was an elephant doing in a cave?

It raised its trunk to reveal a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. When it moved, she realised that its body looked all wrong - it was too long, and behind its front feet there didn't seem to be any more legs, just a smooth torso which continued off into the darkness. A feeling of intense wrongness welled up in her gut. Whatever this  _thing_  was, it had killed the creatures whose bones littered the cavern floor. The trunk lowered again and widened into a second mouth, with a snake's forked tongue and long, sharp fangs. It hissed, loudly and sharply.

Very suddenly, the fear came back, hitting her like a punch in the stomach. She opened her mouth to scream even as the trunk lashed forward to strike - and felt darkness smother her once more.

The world snapped back scant seconds later, sharp and bright and  _loud_. The scream she had drawn breath for erupted as she exhaled, but hardly lasted any time before she toppled forward off of Taichi's bed and hit the floor, knocking the wind from her. Adrenaline surged in her veins, and for half a second all she could see in her mind's eye was that  _thing_ , lunging for her with a gaping mouth which was just  _impossible_.

A familiar voice - no, voices - cried her name. As her eyes adjusted she realised the room was technically dark, but no darkness in Tokyo could be as complete as that in the cave. Moments later the door was flung wide open, letting in light which made her teary eyes water even more.

"Hikari!" Her mother's voice was a shriek now, relief and worry all jumbled together. Hard on her heels were more people, but before she could get a good look at them her mother had swept her up into her arms and was squeezing her so tightly she could hardly breathe. It was only then that someone turned the light on, and yelled with surprise.

"What the  _hell_  is that?"

Hikari stiffened, feeling the fear which had only just started to ebb come back. It was short-lived though, because Alwyn's voice replied:

"A fairy, naturally. Might I enquire when it was that you misplaced your manners?"

She couldn't help it. Perhaps it was the shock catching up with her, but all she could do was laugh, hysterically, and cling to her mother as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

* * *

_Monday, 12:36am_

Jou gaped. He had to admit, it wasn't anything like he had been expecting. Barren wastelands; spooky forests; mysterious and unnerving coastlines; pitch black fields? All those things, sure. A mountain pass overlooking a pretty stunning alpine valley? Not even on the list.

Surely there had to be some sort of mistake? This didn't look anything like the dangerous and terrifying world the others had mentioned. His glasses had light-sensitive lenses of course, which helped with the brightness. But hadn't Takeru mentioned being scared the whole time? If he hadn't known better, he would have said it was the digital world. Or even somewhere on Earth.

"Well this isn't so bad," said Gomamon from beside him. "You know, with all the stuff they were saying, they almost had me worried."

He flinched. "Gah! Jeez, Gomamon, you nearly made me jump out of my skin."

Gomamon grinned. "Well, it's good to know you're still the same old Jou inside at least. Even if you did have to get so big on the outside. Are you ever going to finish growing?"

Jou grinned. "I think I'm probably about done getting taller now Gomamon," he said. "And I'm sure we've had this conversation before."

"Well, you said you were done growing last time, too, and look, you went and got taller again. You need to visit more often, that's the problem."

He sighed. "We've talked about this one too. If I'm going to be a doctor, this next few years are going to be really busy for me."

"Well you know, when Mimi was gathering us all up she had a pretty good idea about all that. She said she'd take her books and go study in the Digital world. You know, you could always do the same thing sometimes. I mean, it's not like I miss you or anything, but maybe the fresh air would do you some good, you know?"

Now it was Jou's turn to smile. "Always have my best interests at heart, eh?"

"Well, I figured it didn't take much effort to pass the suggestion on. I'm a pretty decent digimon after all, so really it only seems fair to mention it."

"It's certainly a good idea, though. I don't know why I never thought of that before," Jou said. "But for now, I think it's probably more sensible to try and work out where we are, and how we're going to get back. It's all very well talking about going to the Digital world more, but we need to get out of this one first."

"I could try making you jump again if you like," Gomamon replied. "We'll be back in no time."

"Oh, very funny," said Jou, adjusting his glasses. "I can certainly see how you're going to be a big help here."

The mountains rose steeply to their left; a high and almost sheer rock face. Looking up, Jou could see that the mountain was capped with snow. On the other side, the slope was more gradual, and behind them, the land rose along what could only loosely be called a path. The ground underfoot was rough and uneven, and littered with rocks and stones. Obviously they were at the head of the pass, although where it led from and to was anybody's guess.

The most immediate problem was that there  _weren't_  any problems, in fact. Jou was well aware that he had a rather more nervous disposition than many of the other Chosen Children, but even he couldn't see anything to be particularly scared of. By the looks of things, they could walk for miles without seeing anyone or anything. Although honestly, the idea of walking seemed rather pointless. It really was quite nice to just stand there and take in the view. Peaceful, in fact.

With his studies taking up an ever increasing portion of his free time, it was something of a luxury to be able to stand there and let his worries ebb away. Something about the place invited stillness - even Gomamon had fallen silent after their initial burst of conversation. For a long while, both of them simply stood and admired the view.

The tranquillity ended when the ground began to shake. It was gentle at first, a slight tremor which caught their attention and woke them from the peaceful spell they'd fallen under. Jou blinked, and looked around him.

"What the…oh  _no_. Gomamon, it's an earthquake!"

The shaking rapidly gained intensity, and within seconds they were struggling to remain upright. Atop the deep rumbling sound was the clatter of small stones, jumping across the earth.

"Jou, look out!" Gomamon cried, leaping towards Jou. He careened into him, sending them both flying.

Jou landed heavily on his back, and was about to yell at his partner to cut it out when he saw the reason for Gomamon's panic. Above them, the sheer, rocky slope was on the move. It was a landslide, and they were right in its path. Even as he watched, the upper part of it shattered into large chunks which tumbled down towards them. He clung to the small body of his partner, rolling over to shield him from a blow which neither of them could possibly survive. Moments later, everything went dark.

* * *

_Monday, 12:44am_

Ken almost dropped his laptop when Hikari's terrified scream ripped through the apartment. As one, everyone leapt to their feet, with Mrs Yagami first to Taichi's bedroom door. From the look on her face as she passed him, Ken was prepared to bet that she would have hit anyone who got in her way. In the chaos, he ended up being last to her door, so was unable to see what Daisuke meant when he cried out:

"What the  _hell_  is that?"

He didn't hear the reply properly, only Hikari's laughter in response - a horrid, desperate laugh which made his stomach clench. What had  _happened_  to her? That didn't sound anything like the Hikari he knew. He didn't think he'd ever heard her sound so terrified.

Miyako had backed out of the room, eyes wide. She looked as though she wanted to say something, although it was anyone's guess what it was. Curiosity prickled at him, but he knew better than to poke his nose in. After all, Hikari had been missing almost as long as Yamato - the last thing she or her parents really needed was everyone crowding around them at that moment. Looking away from the door, he spotted Mrs Takaishi sitting back down at the table. What must she be feeling?

"I…I'm sure Takeru and Yamato are okay," he said, wishing the words sounded as uplifting as they had in his head.

She met his eyes, and tried to smile. He felt horrible. What could anyone say, after all?

A commotion in Taichi's room mercifully broke the awkward silence, and he turned in time to see Miyako and Daisuke backing out of the doorway, their eyes wide. They were followed by Hikari and her parents, and… and a small person with large wings, who flew several inches above the floor. Ken wasn't really sure  _what_  he had been expecting, but that wasn't it.

He took a step back as the…whatever that was landed on the floor, looking around him with amazement before clearing his throat and bowing to everyone.

"Well met. I am Alwyn, of the Forest City, and I am pleased to meet more of the Chosen Children and their families."

"And you're a  _fairy_ ," Daisuke said flatly. "As in…fairies. Actual fairies. Like, not messing us around or anything, that's what you are."

Hikari sighed. "Yes, he is. It's… a long story." She looked around the room. "Wait a minute. Where's Tailmon? And Koushiro, too. And what happened to Jou and Gomamon?"

Miyako cleared her throat. "Well, it turns out that it's not just the four of you getting pulled into that other world. It's all of the original Chosen Children."

To their collective surprise, Hikari just nodded.

"Yes, that's why I need to talk to Koushiro. It's really important. There's another prophecy, and the Digital world is involved somehow, and-"

"Yeaah, um, Koushiro's kinda in the other world right now?" Daisuke said, with all of his usual discretion.

Ken sighed. Honestly, there were times when he was sorely tempted to…well, not  _actually_  slap Daisuke, because honestly, he had all the self-awareness of a child when it came to this sort of thing and it would just be wrong, but certainly he wanted to take him to one side and point out the importance of  _tact_. Although that said, the likelihood of Daisuke understanding tact even if it jumped up and hit him in the face was pretty slim.

Miyako had no such compunctions, and smacked him across the side of his head.

"Daisuke!" she cried. "Give her a minute, for heaven's sake."

"Hold on," Hikari said, raising her hands. She seemed remarkably calm, all things considered. "Can someone explain what's going on?"

"..And then you'll tell us where you were all this time?" Mrs Yagami said, her voice trembling slightly. "We were so worried about you."

Hikari looked at their visitor. Ken was still having a bit of a hard time believing that he was a fairy, no matter what the others had said. Fairies were creatures from make-believe, after all, and this person was far too  _real_ , right down to the dust and dirt on his clothes, and the deadly serious expression on his face. Even digimon seemed to make more sense than fairies, and they were made of computer data.

"There was a bit of a misunderstanding," Hikari said. "Alwyn's people thought I was…a spy, I suppose. So they questioned me, and when they realised I'm one of the Chosen Children they let me go. Except by then my D-Terminal had run out of batteries, so there was no way for me to tell you I was safe."

Ken frowned. "Wait a minute, does that mean that place  _is_  the digital world?"

She shook her head, then fixed him with a look which made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. "It's a different place. Very different. But somehow digimon are ending up there, and we're getting pulled over because there's a prophecy saying that the Chosen Children will make things right. I don't know what the whole prophecy says, because it's very old and they didn't have a copy in the Forest City, but it mentions our crests.  _All_  of them. Including yours Ken."

After having been the recipient of endless attention as a child prodigy, Ken had thought he was used to people staring at him. However, there was something uniquely unpleasant about feeling everyone's eyes turn on him at that moment, full of pity and concern. He wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"What, so they don't want the  _rest_  of us?"

For once, Ken felt nothing but relief as Daisuke captured everyone's attention again, even if his remark had caused Mrs Yagami to flinch. Miyako rolled her eyes and batted her hand at his arm this time, making him yelp, while Hikari just sighed. Mr Yagami had hung back slightly, and was watching the proceedings with a solemn expression on his face.

"We do not know the full details of the prophecy, as the texts are held in the library of the Grand Council, far from the Forest City," Alwyn said. "In truth, we know only that the Children who are Chosen will use the power of the Marks - Crests - to make things right, and the names of the nine Crests."

"Honestly, I'm just as happy to sit this one out," Miyako said. "I mean, no offence Mr Fairy, sir, but I've seen what happened when the others got back from your world, and I'm fine right here. I'll be communications person, really I will."

"Well how are you gonna do that when-" Daisuke began, then stopped abruptly when Ken reached out and hauled him backwards, setting him off-balance.

"Think about who's here before you talk, will you?" Ken muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up as everyone looked at him again. Hikari in particular seemed confused.

"Will someone explain what's been going on now?" she said. "I've missed something important, I can tell that much."

No one spoke, although Miyako looked as though she wanted to. The silence stretched out for several seconds before it was broken by Mrs Yagami turning to cry into her husband's shoulder. Mrs Takaishi stood, and walked over to the group.

"Maybe you'd better take her to get some rest," she said to Mr Yagami. "It's been a…a trying day, and I think it would be easier for the children to explain things without us around."

Ken hadn't ever really had the chance to get to know the others' parents all that well, although he knew Takeru and Koushiro's in passing thanks to their previous involvement with matters in the digital world. His respect for Mrs Takaishi went up considerably as she spoke. Despite how worried he knew her to be, she was remarkably calm and collected, and seemed to understand the situation perfectly.

Mr Yagami nodded. It took a few more minutes to convince Mrs Yagami that Hikari would still be there in the morning, but at last they retired to their bedroom, leaving silence in their wake. Mrs Takaishi mentioned checking on Mimi, and disappeared into Hikari's room.

" _Now_  will you tell me what's going on?" Hikari snapped. She shuddered. "It wasn't exactly fun getting back here you know. And where's Tailmon?"

Ken blinked, shocked by her outburst. Miyako and Daisuke seemed no less surprised. Alwyn rested a hand on her shoulder as though to reassure her.

"The others are all missing, Hikari. We don't know where any of them are."

Ken jumped, and whirled on the spot. The speaker was Tentomon, who had been sat watching Jou for so long that he had forgotten the digimon was even  _there_.

Hikari covered her mouth with her hands. "Taichi?"

Miyako cleared her throat. "He was with Takeru and Koushiro. They were all okay, but a few hours ago they stopped replying to our messages. Sora disappeared around the same time, along with Piyomon."

Hikari frowned. "Disappeared?"

"We think it was a fear gate," Ken said. "That's Koushiro's theory, anyway. Being scared enough in the other world sends you here, but after visiting there, it works both ways. Something must have scared her enough to send her across. That or…"

"Or Yamato came home briefly, and then pulled her back with him," Miyako said. "But Mr Ishida was out when it happened, so we really don't know."

"Pardon my interruption," Alwyn said, "But you mentioned that the Child of Knowledge stopped contacting you at the same time this Sora disappeared. How was he able to communicate his theory?"

Even Daisuke looked a little awkward after Alwyn spoke. Apparently none of them wanted to be the one to explain  _that_  mess. Ken had never quite been able to work out what the relationship between Hikari and Takeru was - it hovered somewhere just past normal friendship, but short of anything obviously more. Then again, the same could be said for several of the other Chosen Children, too. Either way, it was more bad news on top of an already bleak situation.

After a somewhat awkward silence, Miyako sighed. "It was Takeru. Koushiro was asking him about what had happened in the other world, and Takeru sort of got a bit panicky, and then… they both went whoosh and vanished. But then they met up with Taichi, and everything seemed to be okay. And Tailmon was with them, because she-"

"Wait, Tailmon's  _there_? Now?"

Miyako winced. "She, uh, kinda went back with Taichi because they were looking for you. I mean, Takeru got a look at the world with Pegasusmon, and he thought he was on the other side of the forest you were in, so they set out across it to find you, and then…they vanished."

Alwyn perked up at that. "It's possible they were apprehended by Forest City scouts," he said. "If they were travelling with digimon they would have been brought in, in much the same way as Hikari was."

"You think so?" Hikari said. The tension seemed to drain out of her. "Oh, I hope you're right."

She turned to the rest of them. "They'll be safe if the scouts got them. The Elders will realise who they are, and then we should be able to contact them again, unless they run out of batteries. We never had  _that_  problem in the digital world."

"It certainly complicates matters," Ken said. "Particularly as most of the older Chosen use their phones to communicate with each other these days. We can get a stock of batteries for the D-Terminals, but the phones need to be charged here."

"Koushiro doesn't even have a phone with him," Tentomon said. "He normally uses his laptop, and that got left behind."

"Which is just as well, really," Daisuke said. "I mean, it'd be no good- Ow! What was that for Miyako? I was just gonna say, it'd be no good Koushiro having his laptop seeing as we need it here! Seriously, what gives?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurrah, an update during NaNo! It sorta helped that I wrote Jou's section aaaaaages ago (seriously, at one point I thought it was going to make it into chapter 21, and then the plot expanded somewhat), but nonetheless, here it is!
> 
> I'm not entirely happy with the third section - it's very dialogue-heavy, and I am still not so comfortable writing Ken's PoV. But I needed an external narrator for that part, and honestly, I don't think I could have done it so well with either Miyako or Daisuke. I do want to stress that at this point, they are all very tired, which I think goes some way towards dampening their otherwise natural freak-out over a fairy materialising in front of them. Plus, I mean, digimon. They're used to weird stuff. Hikari is also a lot calme than, say, Takeru was after coming back, because she fully expected to be scared out of her wits before going into the cave.
> 
> Incidentally, the creature in that cave? I did not make it up. I might have embellished the appearance a little, but that's all. Google "grootslang" and you will see what I mean. Humanity has thought up some seriously weird stuff over the years. (And that's also a bit of a clue actually, as to what the world is. Props to anyone who gets it!)


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Cow, it's been a while! The last section of this chapter took soooo long to write. All the more galling, considering that I wrote the opening to this chapter months ago, and then stalled on stitching it into the rest of the narrative, as well as on deciding which perspective to use in the last section. The time of year has somewhat conspired against me too, I must admit.
> 
> Still, we're here at last! Getting closer and closer to the end of Act One (I can't believe how long this fic is getting. I thought it would all be finished by now, and yet here we are, still sorta at the intro? I blame Digimonm for being an Ensemble Cast series - I don't want to leave anyone out!) Anyway, let me know what you think of the chapter!

_Monday, 12:35am_

It was a city. Something about it seemed instantly familiar, although it took her a minute to realise what. The thought was not a comforting one.

"Mimi, where are we?" said Palmon's voice.

"I don't know," she replied, glad to have her partner there. "But doesn't this place look creepily similar to when we were in that city in the Digital world? When Leomon…" She trailed off and looked around her.

"I don't know, Mimi. I can't explain it but I can tell you for certain that this isn't the Digital world."

She nodded. "Then it's just like the others. We're in that strange place, the same as everyone else." She held a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

"It probably just looks familiar because it seems like this city is abandoned too," Palmon said, walking over to the nearest doorway.

Mimi clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Palmon!" she cried. "Remember what Miyako said? Yamato was in a city when he went missing. What if it's the same one?"

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Well, Taichi found Takeru, didn't he? So I don't see why we can't find Yamato. I'm certainly going to look, at any rate. I mean, what else can we do? From what Miyako and Jou said, we're stuck here unless something super scary happens, and well I don't know about you, but I would really rather not go looking for that. And if we're going to be stuck here anyway we might as well do something useful, yes? And Sora might be there too."

Palmon smiled. "Well when you put it like that, I guess you're right Mimi! Let's get looking!"

Mimi nodded, and reached down for her bag, to fetch out the sunglasses she'd packed. Her hand met air.

"That's odd," she said, looking around to see if the bag had landed nearby, instead of being carried with her. "I brought a bag, and now I can't see it anywhere. I was going to put my sunglasses on, but I don't know where they could be."

Palmon frowned, and waved her over to the building.

"Why don't you come in here out of the sun, and you can message the others to ask if it's still there," she said. "You still have your digivice and phone, don't you?"

Mimi gasped, covering her face with her hands. This was all going wrong. "But my phone - oh no, and my digivice! They were both in my bag as well! I know I was wearing it. I'm sure, because the strap was digging into my shoulder, so I shifted it slightly before I went to sleep."

She looked around at the city again. Despite the fact that nothing had changed, it suddenly seemed a lot more hostile an environment. If she didn't have her digivice with her, that meant Palmon wouldn't be able to evolve. What would they do if they encountered someone dangerous during their search for Yamato?

Palmon nodded. "I believe you Mimi. I saw it too. You'd better come inside where no one can see you."

Now she couldn't help but imagine people or monsters lurking behind every building, despite the eerie silence. It just wasn't  _right_  for a place to be this quiet. Mimi was a city girl at heart; whether in Japan or America, she had never dwelt in the countryside. Even the digital world wasn't as silent as this place - there was always a breeze in the trees, or the sound of digimon somewhere in the distance. She hadn't experienced silence like this since Spiral Mountain.

And there was that association again. The nagging worry in the back of her mind, lurking with the memory of friends lost. She forced herself to think of something cheerier - she wasn't a little girl any more, after all. She wasn't helpless!

The building appeared to have once been a house. Furniture remained in the rooms on the ground floor, shielded from the bright light by cracked blinds and faded curtains. There few signs of disturbance - no one had come to rummage the belongings of the former inhabitants. They wandered slowly from room to room, searching in vain for any clues as to what sort of people could have lived there

"This place is creepy," Palmon said, as they walked into a kitchen area. The windows opened onto a courtyard, their shutters hanging part-open.

"You're right there," she replied. "I wonder what happened, to make all the people leave."

Pots and pans were still stacked on shelves. Mimi didn't dare open the cupboards - she was afraid they would still be filled with what once had been food. What  _had_  happened? What was this city, and why did no one live here any more?

The oven in the kitchen looked very old-fashioned, and she couldn't see a fridge anywhere. In fact, the more she looked around, the more obvious it became that  _everything_  was either very old fashioned or of a completely unfamiliar design. The chairs had odd backs, which dipped in the middle, and there were shelves on one wall which extended right to the ceiling - far out of reach.

"I don't like it here," Mimi said. "It's all too… It's not right."

Palmon walked further, through an open doorway. "Mimi, look! Have you seen anything like this before?"

Mimi followed her partner into an adjacent room filled with what she supposed to be wash tubs. They looked like the sort of thing she'd seen in historical dramas, with old scrubbing boards, and the thing with rollers which she couldn't remember the name of. A basket stood in the corner, filled with ageing scraps of faded cloth. It was like walking into the past.

There was a door to an outside area in this room, and Mimi peered out to find a patch of dry earth. At one time it looked as though plants would have grown in it, but all that remained were withered stalks and a few gardening tools. A tall fence had once surrounded the garden, but it too had suffered over the years, and most of it was bent or broken entirely. Only a small patch near the house remained at full height - presumably sheltered by the overhanging roof.

It was far too bright to be comfortable outside, but even this barren garden was less unsettling than the abandoned house. Mimi crouched down to inspect the plants. The earth had cracked in places - did it ever rain here?

"It's all so strange," she said, as Palmon wandered over to a pump of some sort. "I wonder why everyone left the city."

"Hey, look Mimi!" Palmon said. "This still works. Water!" She lifted the handle and pressed it down again, laughing as water splattered onto the dry ground. "I  _was_  starting to get thirsty. At least we can have a drink."

Mimi frowned. "But if the water pumps still work, why is everything so dry? This place is almost like a desert, but there's still water. It doesn't make sense, if you ask me."

Palmon shrugged. "I don't know, Mimi. But I think we should both have a drink here, in case we can't find water later. Maybe there's a bottle we could take from the house to carry more with us?"

Mimi shuddered. "I don't really want to go back in there, Palmon. Besides, everything there is so old and dirty. It's different for you, but I'd probably get sick if I drank that water."

Palmon frowned. "Well you'll need to drink sooner or-" She froze, then raced over to Mimi. "Someone's coming!" she hissed.

Mimi reached out and clung to Palmon. "What do we do?" she whispered. "Without my digivice, you can't evolve."

She could hear it now - voices and footsteps, drawing closer. It was impossible to make out the worlds, but the voices sounded human. Creeping over to the fence, she peered through a gap in the wood, and saw a group of what had to be soldiers. Her jaw dropped. They  _were_ humans! A group of nine or ten, all wearing uniforms and carrying weapons. Despite the lighthearted tone of their speech, they walked cautiously, looking around them with solemn faces.

As she watched their progress along the street, without quite realising it she leant forward. Her hands pressed against the ageing wood. It creaked - and then, slowly but inexorably, the section of fence began to move. She gasped, and clutched at it in vain as it picked up pace. It fell to the ground in front of her with a loud clatter which made her wince, raising a large cloud of dust. She coughed and spluttered, waving her hands in front of her fact to try and clear the air.

"Mimi!" Palmon cried, running over.

As the dust settled she looked out into the street beyond, and saw the group of soldiers arranged in a loose group. All had weapons drawn and pointed in her direction.

"Um, hello," she said nervously, not sure what else there was to do. "I'm a little lost - can you tell me what this city is please? My partner and I woke up here, and we're looking for a friend."

From the way that the soldiers' eyes all seemed to flick in the direction of the man to the right hand side of the group, Mimi supposed him to be the leader. He didn't look particularly friendly - covered head to toe in a strange armour, which seemed more elaborate than the gear the others were wearing, too. Rather than the old-fashioned guns which the others had, he held a sword.

"Who are you?" he barked. "And what manner of creature is that with you? Speak quickly, or face the consequences. Why do you trespass in the city?"

Mimi blinked, shocked at the man's harsh tone of voice. "But I told you," she said. "We just woke up here, and we're lost." She started to stand up.

"Freeze!" the man snapped, as every soldier seemed to go tense. "Do not attempt to resist or escape. My men will not hesitate to shoot."

"No!" Palmon cried, taking a step forward. "Don't hurt Mimi!"

One of the men flinched, and the gun in his hand fired. A bullet hit the ground just beside Mimi's leg, ricocheting off into the garden with a crack that made her scream. She flung her hands up to cover her face.

Palmon reacted almost as quickly, lashing out with long vines which wrapped around the soldier and tossed him aside. The other soldiers retaliated with a deafening round of gunfire which peppered the earth around them. Mimi screamed again as her partner was hit, and fell backwards with a cry of pain.

"Palmon!" she shrieked, lunging forwards to grab her. "Palmon,  _no_!"

Mimi looked up in time to see the soldiers reloading their weapons. Already one of them was taking aim at her.

"Please," she whispered, closing her eyes.

The gun fired.

* * *

_Monday, 12:57am_

Mimi woke with a deep, shuddering gasp. Every muscle in her body screamed a protest - she was rigid with terror, trembling slightly and unable to move. The first thought in her head as she opened her eyes to see a bright light was that she was dead. She had to be dead. She'd heard the gunshot, and there was no way she could-

"Mimi!"

_Palmon_. If there was one voice which could cut through her panic, it was that one. Her surroundings came into focus, all the more slowly for being somewhat unfamiliar. It took her a few moments to realise where she was.

Palmon crouched beside her on the floor, awake and seemingly unhurt.

"B-but  _how_ ," she said, feeling the tears start to fall. "I saw… they… but you were…"

Palmon shrugged. "I don't know, Mimi. It's still a little sore, but I'm okay, really."

She moved to sit up, and felt the strap of a bag press into her shoulder. Frowning, she disentangled herself, and took a better look around. The light was on, but she and Palmon were alone in the room, and the door was almost closed. She could hear voices from the other room.

She ought to go and let everyone know what had happened. She ought to find some other company, not sit here by herself. She ought to check and see if everyone was okay.

Instead, she clung to Palmon and cried.

"Oh I was so scared," she sobbed, between tears. "Why did they  _do_  that, Palmon? Why did they shoot? And I thought they'd hurt you - I'm so glad you're alright!"

Before Palmon could reply, the door pushed open to reveal Mrs Takaishi. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene, then strode over and crouched down beside them both.

"Mimi, you're up!" she said, then rested a hand gently on Mimi's shoulder. "It's okay, it's over now."

Mimi scarcely heard her, lost in her own mingled shock and relief. She didn't notice movement at the door until someone else sat down beside her, and reached out a hand. Looking up, she gasped.

"Hikari?"

Hikari smiled. "It's me. I made it back about twenty minutes ago. Are you and Palmon okay?"

Mimi tried to smile back, but felt her lower lip trembling.

"Oh, it was  _awful_ ," she said, feeling a fresh set of tears spill down her cheeks. "We were… it was a city, and we were just looking and then there were all these… all these soldiers, and they were so angry and I just don't understand why! And then- then they…"

She couldn't bring herself to actually say it. Instead, she looked down at Palmon, still marvelling that somehow her partner was relatively unhurt. How was that possible?

Her partner smiled up at her. "It's okay, Mimi. I'm alright. And I couldn't let them hurt you."

Hikari frowned. "Soldiers? And a city? What sort of place was it, Mimi?"

She took a deep breath, and brushed some of the tears away. After all. It  _was_  over now. She was safe, and Palmon was safe, and that was all that counted, wasn't it? Besides. The others had all managed to tell everyone what had happened to them. Still, her breath hitched in her throat when she went to talk. It took several tries for her to get the whole story out, starting with her decision to look for Yamato, and she managed it mostly by not particularly stopping for air. It got a little easier the further she was through the tale, though. Talking it out was a good way to process what had happened. It was only after she finished talking that she realised Mrs Takaishi had left the room.

"Oh dear," she said. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned Yamato in front of his mother, should I?"

Hikari looked out into the main room. "I don't know," she said. "I think it's hard for her at the moment, but we can't exactly hide things from our parents. Now that they know, there's no going back. And they might as well have the same information we do."

Mimi sighed. "I haven't said anything to mine. They think I'm just having a sleepover at Sora's. I suppose I-"

Miyako shrieked from the other side of the door. "Hikari, quick! It's a message from  _Taichi_!"

Hikari tensed, then raced out of the room. Mimi quickly got to her feet and followed her, still holding Palmon.

"What did he say?" the younger girl asked, racing over to the table where Miyako and Ken sat. "Is he okay? What about Takeru and Koushiro?"

As she stepped into the room, Mimi froze, eyes going wide. Jou was lying on the sofa with Gomamon draped across his stomach, both of them wreathed in black shadows. It was a rather disturbing sight, not least of all because she knew that it was how she must have looked all the while she'd been in the other world.

That was bad enough, but she had been preparing herself for the possibility of seeing something along those lines. After all, there had never been any doubt that one of them would have to wake before the other. What she  _hadn't_  been expecting was to find a stranger sat on a chair in the corner, sporting a large pair of wings and holding a pair of chopsticks awkwardly over a bowl of ramen.

"Okay," she said to the room at large. "How long was I  _out_  for, exactly?"

* * *

_Monday, 12:50am_

In all honesty, when Ithel had announced that he was going to escort them to the healers' quarters - which didn't sound all that encouraging a destination, if he was honest - Taichi assumed that he'd meant in a delegation sort of sense. Instead, the little guy had flown over, draped Takeru's comparatively good arm over his shoulders, and led the way himself.

Taichi was impressed. It was a lot easier to believe they were on the same side after a gesture like that. And to judge from the awestruck expressions of the people they passed on their way to the healers' quarters, Ithel was a pretty senior member of the Elders, even if he _was_  half Taichi's height.

The tunnels were filling fast, although the odd assortment of people lining them made sure to stand well back of the guards who flanked them. Taichi wasn't sure he liked the expressions of all of their audience. Particularly some of the expressions being directed at their digimon. Then again, if the only digimon these people had met were hostile ones, he couldn't exactly say he  _blamed_  them either. They'd jumped to some conclusions of their own, after all.

The crowds didn't go past a set of large, ornate doors inlaid with precious stones. Taichi saw why once they made it a few paces in. It was a hospital wing of some sort, albeit one which seemed very old-fashioned. Nurses and doctors bustled around in neat white clothes, some afoot while others flew through the air. The lights here were all electric, and seemed brighter than the mix of yellow bulbs and open torches of the other corridors.

He was pretty sure the effects of that awful drink were wearing off by the time they reached a ward off the main corridor, because every step got harder to take. He could see Takeru ahead of him flagging. The poor kid looked ready to drop. Koushiro  _had_  dropped, or at least it appeared that way. His head was lolling forwards, and one of their guards had come to assist with carrying him at some point on their walk. Even the digimon looked exhausted.

The two guards saddled with Koushiro lowered him onto an empty bed, where he lay unmoving, while Ithel led Takeru to another nearby. Patamon flew over and settled down near Takeru's head. Their entourage had remained outside in the corridor, to be replaced with the strangest assortment of doctors Taichi had ever seen. He certainly hoped they were doctors, anyway. "Healers' quarters" had sounded rather too much like the sort of place which didn't feature medicine so much as it did prayers.

Taichi wasn't sure what to do. He was exhausted, but not so tired that he was going to fall down. Agumon and Tailmon waited by his side, looking between him and the others.

"Please, take a seat, either in a chair or one of the cots," Ithel said, turning away from Takeru. "Our healers will attend to your wounds, and you all appear to be in much need of rest." He gestured to the assortment of people dressed in white.

A woman with what looked like  _leaves_  in her hair turned to him and bowed. "There is no reason to fear for your friends. We are well accustomed to treating injuries of all sorts, I am sad to say. In these dark times, to wander the forests above is a peril in itself. If you are able, though, it would speed our work to know what forms their injuries take."

"They fell through a roof," he said, running a hand through his hair. "So generally they're not in great shape. And Takeru apparently got attacked by a giant bird? You'll have to ask Patamon for the details on that one because I wasn't there at the time. Oh, and before that, he got burnt by this weird rain. And Koushiro… well honestly, I think his wrist is pretty bad, but he's insisting that it's no big deal."

She nodded and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "We can take things from here. Your friends will be okay, but now it is important that your injuries are tended to as well."

Taichi grimaced. "Honestly, it's not so bad. I'm  _fine_."

"What about your side, Taichi?" Agumon said. "You should really get it seen to, you know."

He shook his head. "It's just a scratch. Honestly, I'll be fine after a rest."

The woman reached out and pressed a finger to the centre of his forehead. He was about to ask what the hell she was playing at when she pulled her hand back and shook her head.

"If left untended, the wound will develop an infection. The claws of the bargheist carry toxins. Your body is also thoroughly battered, and weary from both physical exertion and lack of sleep. Please take a seat, and someone will come and tend to your injuries."

Taichi gaped at her. "What did… What  _are_  you?"

She pointed to a bed. "I am the doctor who just told you to rest. Now please. Be seated or lie down."

There was a chair next to the bed she had indicated. Taichi had just enough pride left to sit in it, rather than accept the comfort of the mattress. Given a few moments to think, he still wanted to be sure that Takeru and Koushiro were safe. These  _were_  the people who had sent Hikari off into certain and absolute danger, after all.

Agumon sat on the floor by his feet, while Tailmon leapt onto the bed and curled up on the pillow. Despite appearing to go to sleep, Taichi noticed that one eye remained slightly open, watching the comings and goings.

He fully intended to stay awake himself - they'd been promised the return of their phones and digivices, after all. Still, after just a few minutes he caught himself nodding in the chair. Despite promising to attend to him, it seemed that the focus was on tending to Takeru and Koushiro - which was understandable, really. Neither of them looked in good shape.

A mug of suspiciously and unpleasantly familiar liquid was thrust under his nose. He recoiled from the smell, startled into wakefulness.

"I would not normally keep a patient from their rest, but Ithel tells me you must communicate with the other world."

Taichi looked up to see yet another new face, this time belonging to a small man with short antlers poking out from the top of his head. It was unexpected enough that it took him a few seconds to fully comprehend what he'd been told.

"Wait,  _other world_ …You have my phone?"

The man nodded. With his other hand he held out a wicker basket containing their devices. "We brought these as swiftly and securely as we were able. The Chosen of Light told the Elders that they are able to run out of power, so Maela wished you to send a message now, just to be sure you can."

Taichi nodded blearily.

"You should drink, Chosen of Courage," the man said.

Sighing, Taichi accepted the mug. He grimaced, then drank down the contents as quickly as he could, shuddering at the taste.

"Man, this stuff is a real incentive not to get hurt," he muttered, handing the mug back. He straightened slowly as the effects took hold, shaking his head.

"Never mind that, I want to know if Hikari is okay!" Tailmon snapped.

Taichi smiled tiredly at her. "Me too," he said, flipping open his phone to send an email.

He had almost forgotten about the unread message which had arrived on their way to the city. Reading it, he felt as though he'd been punched in the gut -  _again_. His bruises twinged as he tensed.

_::Sora has vanished. Mr Ishida came home to an empty apartment. We can only assume she went to the other world through a fear gate somehow. We're working on getting some answers, and we'll get news to you as soon as we can.::_

He sagged in the chair.

"What's wrong?" Agumon asked.

"It's Sora," Taichi said dully. It seemed as though they'd had nothing but bad news for days. "She's… she's  _gone_. Piyomon too, by the sounds of it. That's what they were telling us earlier. That they both just disappeared and no one knows where they are."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I hope they have some more news for us by now,"

Tailmon and Agumon both nodded.

"It's been a few hours," Tailmon said. "I'm sure something has to have happened."

He nodded. "Well, one way to find out."

_::What's going on there? Is Hikari with you? And is there any news about what happened to Sora?::_

He hit send, and then looked up at the rest of the room. Koushiro and Takeru lay asleep in their beds nearby. The doctors had apparently finished tending to Koushiro while he slept, although someone was still dressing the burns on Takeru's arms. Groaning, he got to his feet and walked over.

"How are they?"

Sighing, the doctor glanced over at Koushiro before turning back to Taichi. "Thoroughly battered, but they will be much better for a rest. We gave them both a sleeping draught to ensure that they would get it while we worked." He gestured to Takeru's shoulder. "The wound here had been cleaned well, but there were a few lingering traces of poison which-"

"What?  _Poison_?" Taichi exclaimed, rousing Patamon - who was dozing on Takeru's pillow. The little digimon looked up at him sadly.

"They told me they got it all out, Taichi," Patamon said. "They think the rider on that bird which attacked us was firing arrows with poison on, and that's why Takeru's shoulder kept bleeding."

The doctor nodded. "It's a common enough tactic with the goblinfolk. They were bad enough even before the corruption. We are well accustomed to dealing with such injuries. He will be fine. The remainder of his injuries, while numerous, are not too serious."

"And Koushiro?"

"Overall he was in better shape, but his left wrist has a hairline fracture to the radius which we've had to splint. Once he's awake we'll get a-"

Taichi's phone bleeped loudly, cutting the doctor off. Tailmon leapt down from the bed and ran over as Taichi flipped it open and read the message.

_::Taichi, it's me, Hikari. I'm fine - tell Ithel the plan worked, and Alwyn is safely here too. Are you all okay? Everyone was really worried when you didn't reply. We've not heard anything from Sora since she disappeared. We're waiting for Jou to wake up at the moment. Mimi is back safely, but she's very shaken.::_

For a few seconds at least, Taichi's relief that his sister was safe took over. He pressed the phone to his chest, sighing, and turned to Tailmon.

"It's from Hikari. She says she's fine."

Tailmon beamed at him. "Good," she said. "But you tell her that she'd better stay that way."

Taichi nodded, then looked back over at Koushiro and sighed.

"I  _told_  him it wasn't 'just sore'," he said.

The doctor cleared his throat. "We treated the break with salves to reduce the swelling and speed his recovery. There are tonics we can offer - and he has the advantage that, so far as our healers could tell, he has never broken a bone before. It should heal within the week."

Taichi turned and stared at him. "A  _week_? Man, where were you guys when I broke my arm? I was in plaster for more than a month!"

The doctor smiled wanly. "In times of old, a week would be considered slovenly. And yet now, were you not the Chosen Children, your friend would have a similar wait. The tinctures and charms to heal someone with that speed are much sought after, and there are too few thurgists and healers. It is only because the health of you and your friends is so important to the world that we can heal him so swiftly."

_So, no pressure or anything then_ , Taichi thought glumly, staring down at his phone.  _They're only giving us a priority over their_  own people  _because they believe we're the only ones who can help them._

_::Have you heard anything from Gennai?::_  he typed, frowning down at his phone.  _::Apparently we've got to save the world again. Dunno where Ithel is. We're in a kind of hospital at the moment and I nodded off. We're all fine though, more or less. Oh, and Tailmon told me to tell you that you'd better stay okay, Hikari.::_

The doctor had finished what he was doing as Taichi wrote out the message. After a short silence, he cleared his throat.

"I should dress your wounds now, Chosen of Courage."

Taichi grimaced. "You don't have to call me that you know," he said, heading back over to the chair.  _But I expect you will anyway._


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy wow, it's alive! This update has taken faaar too long to write, but at least it's a fairly lengthy chapter!
> 
> I am inching my way towards Act Two, as well. This whole arc was meant to be an introduction to the story, so I have absolutely no idea how long this ride will turn out to be in the end. But honestly, we are narrowing in on the next stage of things now, and I am super excited to reach that part! A lot has changed from my initial plan between when I started and now (mostly because it's all gotten rather bigger than I had intended), but there are some major plot points which I should reach soon, and they will bring some information which ties together the various storylines.
> 
> I also want to say a huuuge thank you to everyone who has bookmarked or left a comment. I have been kinda blown away by the response to this fic, both here and on ff. It means so much to know that people are enjoying the story!

_Monday, 1:13am_

Mimi sat down on the far side of the table to the others, who were clustered around the two laptops. She wasn't entirely sure she understood Hikari's hurried comment that the fairy - and he _was_ a fairy, Mimi was pretty sure of that - was her guardian. But given that everyone was on tenterhooks waiting for another reply from Taichi, she had a feeling that explanations were going to have to wait. Mrs Takaishi was doing something in the kitchen area, apparently keeping busy.

She clung to Palmon, not wanting to let go of her partner now that they were back in the real world. They'd made it home safely, but didn't she have to go back again? What would happen next time?

"Oh, thank heavens!" Miyako exclaimed, leaning back in her chair. She looked over at Mimi, and smiled. "Taichi says they're all fine. Well, he said they're 'fine more or less', but considering everything that's been happening over there, I'll take that."

Hikari had been leaning over the laptop. Now she straightened, smiling. "I'm going to tell my parents. I know they'll want to know that he's okay."

"We'll fill him in on everything Gennai told us, "Ken said, nodding.

Mimi sat bolt upright, almost dropping Palmon. "Wait, _Gennai_? He replied?" She leant forward. "What did he say?"

Ken sighed. "It's not good news, unfortunately. We got his message shortly after Hikari returned. Apparently there are problems in the digital world. There's some sort of distortion appearing in a few places. Gennai… well, we _all_ think it must be connected somehow."

"And of course, Daisuke had itchy feet so he jumped at the chance," Miyako said, rolling her eyes. "He met V-mon a couple of minutes ago near one of them and they've gone to investigate. He's promised not to take any risks though, seeing as we're down to three and Iori won't know about this until the morning."

"Down to three?" Palmon said, rubbing her side.

Miyako grimaced. She glanced at Ken, and nodded. "There's a prophecy of some sort, and Ken's crest is mentioned, so we have to assume he's going to be pulled into the other world too. Of course, no one seems to know anything _else_ about it, not even Alwyn."

The fairy bristled, and laid his bowl down on his lap. "As I explained, it was the Fates who gave us the prophecy, and no one has seen or heard from them in more than a hundred years. My world is filled with danger. It is no simple matter to seek them out. Even our best scouts do not always return from long-range patrols, and without communication with the other cities, our knowledge of such things shrinks, year on year."

Mimi rubbed her eyes. She was exhausted - it was later even than she tended to stay up to talk to her friends back in America, and she'd been wandering around that city for a while too. There was no way she had enough energy to really think about the fact there was a fairy in the Yagamis' living room. It was like there was a wall between her and her real self - she felt all strange and detached, watching everything without really knowing how she fitted in.

"There," Miyako said, sitting back in her chair again. "I've gotten Taichi as up to speed as I can."

They sat in silence a few moments. Mimi suspected that everyone else was as tired as she felt. Maybe they were even more tired - they'd all been up the night before as well, hadn't they? She bit back a yawn as Hikari emerged from her parents' room, and pulled up a chair next to Miyako and Ken.

"Any more news?" she asked.

Ken shook his head. "We haven't long replied to Taichi. I was about to ask Mimi if she learnt anything."

Mimi shuddered. "I don't want to talk about it," she said flatly. "It was _horrible_."

She looked up to see Hikari smiling gently at her.

"I know it's not easy, Mimi, but if there's anything you can tell us which you didn't already tell me, that might be able to help us. I can explain the rest - I'm not really all that tired."

Mimi sighed. "I think I told you everything important," she said. "Except - wait. One thing I don't understand. I travelled to this other world with Palmon, yes? Well, you had your digivice - I mean, your D3. When I got there, I didn't have any of that. It was just me and Palmon. How come Taichi could take all those things with him, and everyone else had their digivices or phones, but I got there with nothing at all? If Palmon had been able to evolve, maybe she wouldn't-"

She stopped abruptly, clinging to her partner.

"It's alright Mimi," Palmon said. "I'm fine."

"Hmmm," Miyako said. "You know, I'm pretty sure Sora said the same thing when she made her trip. I'll ask Taichi if Koushiro noticed anything out of the ordinary." She leant forward and started tapping. "Oh, wait, Taichi's messaged again. He says…" she stopped and paled, looking over at Mrs Takaishi. Ken leant across her to read the message.

"He says they're all very tired, and Koushiro and Takeru are already asleep." There was something about Ken's voice which didn't ring entirely right, but even in her tired state, Mimi could sense that neither of the pair wanted to say whatever it was for the moment. Well, they would probably explain it all later.

Hikari had also leant over to read the message, and her face was twisted with something a little like worry. Mimi was about to give in to her curiosity and ask what on earth the matter was when there was a loud thump and a gasp.

" _GOMAMON_!" Jou screamed, and the others surged over to check on him.

Mimi hung back. What if he wasn't okay? What if he felt as dreadful as she did, and didn't want everyone crowding around him? Besides, the urgency in his voice made him think of Palmon, and at that moment, holding on to her partner and reassuring herself that they were both okay was her main priority.

There was a great commotion for a few minutes, as Jou was helped back onto the sofa. He looked more nervous than Mimi could ever remember having seen him, even in the digital world, and he clung to Gomamon in much the same way she clung to Palmon.

The laptop bleeped. No one seemed to notice, so Mimi got to her feet and went to check. After all, what if it was something important?

Palmon stayed by her side as she walked around the table. Mimi didn't need to ask to know that her partner was every bit as shaken by the whole sorry mess as she was. Neither of them wanted to be far from the other - it was a pattern which seemed to be rapidly taking hold among all the Chosen Children. Tentomon had sunk into a deep gloom over the afternoon, and Ken looked fidgety and anxious.

She clicked the flashing icon and a conversation popped up onscreen. The last two messages caught her eye:

_::Shit. It's in the Digital World too? Look, Ithel came back and he said it might be something called a "Time of Merging", whatever that means. You're gonna have to hold the fort for a while though, because we're in no shape to try and get back there. Keep this on the quiet, but Takeru's a mess, and Koushiro fractured his wrist. They're sleeping off the first round of being patched up at the moment. Apparently Ithel's people can heal them faster than in the real world, but we can't risk going anywhere just yet. We're all worn to the bone. Tell Daisuke not to take any chances, because he isn't going to have the backup he's used to.::_

She swallowed heavily. No wonder the others hadn't wanted to read it aloud. She glanced over at the group around Jou, and then looked at the most recent message.

_::I told Ithel the news from Gennai, and he reckons we need to go meet this Grand Council of theirs, because they're the ones who have a copy the prophecy they told us about. Only trouble is, they haven't heard anything from the Council in ages, and their last messenger didn't come back. I reckon we can get through with our partners, but we'll need to be at full strength to make the journey. Tell Hikari to rest up before she comes back at twelve, and to bring Tentomon too. Alwyn had better keep her safe til she's here. Oh, and Koushiro has his digivice but not his phone, so we'll need that as well. I'm gonna get some sleep soon. Everyone else should try and do the same. I wish we knew where Sora and Yamato were, but we can't do anything to help them right now. If they come back, Mr Ishida will call. We have to trust that they're okay, and make sure we're fit to help them when we find out where they are.::_

Mimi looked around at the others. Jou was sitting upright, face paler than she had ever seen it. His glasses sat skewed across his nose, but to judge from the way he clung to Gomamon, he hadn't noticed.

"Um, I think someone ought to see this," she said, making heads turn in her direction. "Taichi's going to sleep now, but he has some information about what they're all going to do next. And, well. He seems to be planning for quite a stay there."

Miyako raced over, rubbing her eyes. " _What_?" She almost fell over in her haste to sit down, and Mimi watched with fascination as her eyes raced back and forth across the screen.

Hikari and Ken followed at a more sensible face, but Jou remained on the sofa. She glanced over at him and frowned. He looked awful. Tentomon appeared to be trying to comfort him, but if there was an individual less capable of offering comfort than Tentomon in the midst of worrying about Koushiro, she had yet to meet them. Sighing, she got to her feet and walked over.

"It was bad, then?" she asked, sitting down next to him. She glanced over at Alwyn, who sat in the armchair watching them curiously. Or, more accurately, he seemed to be watching the _digimon_ curiously. It seemed a little silly for a fairy to be surprised by things, but then, she'd been surprised to see him despite the fact that her own _partner_ could evolve into a fairy. So it sort of evened out.

She had a few seconds to muse on that thought, because Jou didn't seem to have heard her. In the end it was Gomamon who replied.

"We wound up in some kind of mountain range, and then there was an earthquake," he said, shrugging. "I think half the mountain came down. Just as well we got out of there before the dust made my fur all dirty. Jou's family hates me tracking stuff through the house, right Jou?"

Jou nodded absently. Mimi had a feeling he wasn't really listening.

"Jou," she said sharply. Experience had taught her that there was no one better at working Jou into a frenzy of panic than Jou himself. If she could stop that from happening, so much the better.

He looked up, not loosing his grip on his partner at all.

"Look, Jou, I know it was bad. But you can't sit there worrying over it. Taichi wants us to sleep, because we need to do things tomorrow."

Jou snorted. "Go back, you mean?" he said, with more than a trace of bitterness in his voice. "And what are we meant to do then?"

"Well, I don't know!" she snapped. "But we've got to do more than just sit and feel sorry for ourselves!"

"She has got a point, Jou," Gomamon said. "Besides, the landslide already happened. How can we get trapped in it twice?"

Jou took a deep breath, then sighed. "There is that, I suppose."

He shook his head, and appeared to notice his glasses for the first time. Straightening them, he looked up. "Thanks Gomamon. And… thank you, Mimi."

She shrugged. "No problem!" she said, with as much of a smile as she could muster. "After all. It's happened to almost all of us now. We just need to find out a way to avoid whatever it is that's so dangerous. And then maybe we can find Taichi and the others there. They did say they found a map, after all."

Jou frowned. "I don't know how I'll find them, mind. I was in a mountain valley, and I couldn't see any sign of a forest, or the ocean."

Alwyn cleared his throat. "Perhaps I could help?" he said. "It has been many years since I travelled outside the bounds of the Forest, but I do have a good knowledge of the lands of my birth."

Mimi nodded. "Of course! We could-"

"It can wait for the morning," Miyako said, walking over. "Taichi's right. We need to sleep. We have ten-and-a-half hours until you're going back, and you need to rest so we can make plans. "Mimi, as long as you don't alert the guards, you should be fine. Jou… We'll think of something. But we can't make plans while we're this tired. I don't know about you, but I would kill for some real sleep."

A grating sound caught Mimi's attention and she looked round at the table in time to see Daisuke fall out of the digital world in a heap. Ken had just managed to pull the chair out of the way in time. Miyako whirled on the spot, and squeaked with obvious excitement.

"Poromon!"

As Daisuke got to his feet, Minomon hopped free and was scooped up by Ken.

Tentomon sighed. "I hope Koushiro's okay."

Mimi looked down at Palmon anxiously. Her partner's expression matched her own. But what could she do? Tentomon was anxious enough already, without knowing how things stood.

She forced a smile to her face, and did her best to sound cheerful. "Don't worry. Taichi wants you to go with Hikari, so you'll be back with him soon."

If she tried her hardest, she could even focus on that happy thought, and not worry about what on Earth she was going to do when she ended up back in that city.

* * *

_Monday, 8:30am_

Yamato woke slowly. He hurt all over, and something hard and straight-edged was digging into his wrist. Had he fallen asleep playing his bass? It was hard to focus on anything. Hard to remember what he'd been doing when he fell asleep. The last few days were all a blur in his mind. There was something, though. Something about Sora, and Gabumon… _Gabumon_!

His eyes flew open as memories flooded back. He was lying on a cold stone floor, with shackles on his wrists. Where was he? Where was Cahir? The surge of panic welled up, but before it could take hold, Gabumon was there in front of him, reaching out a paw.

"Yamato, you're awake! Thank goodness. You've been asleep a very long time."

The relief was so great that he couldn't even speak. He hardly even noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks, or the stiffness in his back and neck as Gabumon helped him sit up. His partner was alive. Alive and _unharmed_ , despite everything.

He clung awkwardly to him while the adrenaline and fear ebbed away. Gabumon was safe. Whatever else he'd done, whatever effects his forced interrogation had, at least his actions hadn't betrayed his partner.

"What happened to you?" Gabumon asked. "Those men brought you back, but they wouldn't tell me anything."

Yamato looked around the cell. There were one or two differences to indicate the passing of time. Someone seemed to have provided a couple of rough blankets - which Gabumon had wrapped around him - and there was a chipped mug sat by the door. Aside from that, the whole thing could have been a dream. He wasn't entirely convinced that it _had_ happened.

"I…" He stopped, coughing. Just how long had he been out for, that his throat had gone bone dry?

Gabumon leapt up and fetched the mug, which was half-filled with water. "Here," he said. "Drink this, Yamato."

His hands shook as he tried to take hold of it. Between hunger, shock, and the pain of the shackles rubbing his wrists raw, it was hard to grip anything. In the end, Gabumon held the mug and Yamato tipped it enough to take a few sips. The water was stale and had an unpleasant tang to it, but he was too thirsty to really care. He finished the mug long before his thirst was quenched.

"How long?" he asked, letting his hands fall into his lap with a clink of metal. "How long is 'a very long time'?"

Gabumon shook his head. "I don't know. But you were away for… quite a while. More than an hour, I suppose. And then an hour or two after they brought you back, the guards walked by with someone else. They came by with food twice more after that. But they took it away both times when they saw that you were asleep still."

Yamato looked up. There was something about his partner's expression which bothered him. Something off.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Yamato, what happened while you were away?"

He opened his mouth to reply, then shook his head. Cahir's face loomed in his mind, cold and menacing. Shuddering, he inspected the mug rather than answer. It was metal and enamel, with chipped paint around the lip, and one or two small dents in the side.

"It was bad," he said at last. "I don't want… I don't think I _can_ talk about it."

Gabumon sat down beside him. "It's okay. You know you don't have to say anything. I'll always be here for you."

They remained there for a few minutes in silence. It was one of the best things about Gabumon, really. He always seemed to know when Yamato needed mental space. Some of his fondest memories were of sitting around, neither of them talking or moving. Just taking comfort in each other's company.

And yet… there was something wrong. He didn't need to ask to know that - his partner was tense, agitated. He could see it in the careful way which Gabumon avoided meeting his eyes. By how perfectly still the digimon was sitting. There were none of the little movements which he normally didn't even notice, but were all too obvious in their absence.

"Gabumon… what is it?" he asked, not entirely sure that he wanted to know. If it was bothering his partner this much, it couldn't be good.

Gabumon sighed. "The guards," he said. "I couldn't see the person they carried, but as they walked back I heard them mention a giant pink bird, and a girl."

More memories. The shuttering of the world as his senses turned off and on. A warm hand on his. Shuttering again - and then a blur of movement and sound before two icy blue eyes had pushed their way into his head, and everything had faded into darkness.

Yamato groaned, deep in his sore, parched throat. _Sora_. They had Sora - and Piyomon - and it was _all his fault_.

* * *

_Monday, 9:24am_

A faint humming sound was the first thing Koushiro was aware of. The second was pain. His whole body felt like one solid ache, and he wasn't entirely sure he remembered why.

Opening his eyes revealed that he was in some sort of dormitory, lying on a bed with worn, soft sheets. Memories trickled back as he lay there. Of course. Their captors had turned helpers. Seemingly they had made good on their promise of assistance. These were certainly better quarters than the prison cell. He rolled over and made to sit up, yelping as he tried to brace himself on his wrist. Not only did it hurt, it wouldn't move either.

The lack of movement turned out to be down to the fact that someone had wrapped it with a curious arrangement of bandages and strips of wood. He blinked stupidly at it for a moment, before the realisation that it was in fact a splint sank in. Great. Just great. Not only was he trapped in another world - _again_ \- but he'd managed to break his wrist. And of course, no doubt Taichi would be crying "I told you so," until the end of time.

Using his uninjured right hand, he managed to lever himself upright into a sitting position and look around. There were five other beds in the room, but only one of them had an occupant - Takeru lay asleep in the bed opposite, with Patamon curled up on the pillow beside his head. The younger boy's face was a patchwork of bandages and dressings. Apparently their former captors had meant it when they had offered medical treatment. They certainly appeared to have been thorough.

He gave himself a minute or two to take stock of his surroundings. It was more than a little disorienting to wake up in an unfamiliar environment with no real memories of arriving there. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything past their meeting with the Elders save some vague recollections of staggering down a hallway with someone helping him stay upright.

Even more disconcerting was the discovery that his clothes were folded neatly in a pile on the cabinet beside his bed. Thankfully, whoever had undressed him had left his underwear alone, and given him some sort of long, baggy shirt to wear instead.

The room was lit by electric lamps - and they had to be called lamps, and not lights, thanks to their curious shape. The bulbs were wall-mounted, and surrounded by leaf-shaped white shades, which helped to offset the slightly yellow glow they gave off. They seemed to be the source of the humming sound, too. All in all, the longer he sat there, the more curious he became about where he was and what had happened while he had been unconscious. Somehow the word "asleep" didn't seem all that appropriate.

His first move had to be re-dressing himself. No doubt his wrist would prove a complication there, but still. He'd have to manage it at some point, so there seemed no purpose to delaying. The cabinet was close enough for him to reach over and drag the pile onto the bed. Someone had apparently washed and pressed his clothes while he slept, because there was no trace of dirt. That was a blessing, at least.

Throwing back the covers revealed that his legs were covered in deep, blue-purple bruises, with long scratches in the centres of the largest ones. He stared at them in dismay. After all their adventures in the digital world, he'd spent less than a day in this one and somehow looked worse off than he had ever been in his life.

_This isn't the digital world though. So I'm not data here_ , he thought. _Could_ that _be the difference?_

He shook out his trousers, and managed to pull them most of the way up before his wrist really became a hindrance. Muttering to himself, he shuffled out of the bed and stood, shakily. His feet burned, and he pulled the waistband into its position quickly before sinking back into a seat on the mattress with relief. Apparently walking was going to be something of a complication as well.

Appallingly, just putting his trousers on was enough to wear him out. He had to fight the urge to lay back down and close his eyes. This wouldn't do. He had to keep his wits about him, and find out what was going on. After all, he was in an unknown room in an unknown city, Takeru looked as out cold as a person could, and there was no sign of Taichi anywhere. He needed answers, and he needed them _fast_.

He gave up on his shirt after struggling to take the one he had been provided with _off_. The sleeve was loose, but still not loose enough to easily go past the splint, and there was no way his own shirt would fit past it. It hurt far too much to want to try, anyway.

A few more minutes to regain his breath, and he attempted to stand again. He managed three steps before retreating to the comfort of the bed, cursing under his breath. Apparently their long march the day before had taken a greater toll on his feet than he had realised at the time. Of course, the fact that he had been dragged into this world without his shoes meant that he probably should have expected something like this.

Movement on the other side of the room caught his attention, and he looked over sharply. Patamon was stirring beside Takeru, stretching and yawning. The little digimon looked first at Takeru, and then around the room. When he spotted Koushiro staring at him, he smiled and took to the air.

"You're awake!" he said, landing on the end of Koushiro's bed. "They said you'd sleep a long time."

Koushiro sighed. "I don't know _how_ long I've been asleep," he said. "Even if I knew the time now, I have no idea of when we arrived here."

Patamon nodded. "Taichi might know," he said. "He sent a message to the others. Where is he now?"

"I don't know," Koushiro replied. "I woke up a few minutes ago, and I haven't seen signs of anyone else. I'd go and look for him, but when I try to stand…" He trailed off, and sighed again.

Instead of answering, Patamon nodded again, and took to the air. He flew over to the doorway, but stopped short of leaving the room. Koushiro could guess the reason for that from the expression on Patamon's face as he turned to look at Takeru.

"Is there anyone in sight, Patamon?" he said. "Someone who can go find Taichi?"

Patamon nodded. "Oh, wait, he's here! Taichi! Koushiro's awake!"

Heavy footfalls preceded Taichi's appearance at the door.

"Koushiro, you're up!" he said, walking over and sitting on the bed. "I thought you'd be out longer. They gave you something to make you sleep - not that you needed it."

Koushiro stiffened. "They _drugged_ me?"

Taichi rolled his eyes. "It was a precaution so you wouldn't wake up while they sorted out your wrist. They said you needed sleep. Hell, _all_ of us did. Agumon's sleeping off breakfast, or dinner, or whatever you want to call it when it's morning on Earth, night here, and we're all waking up."

With the mention of food, the source of one of Koushiro's many discomforts became clear. When was the last time he had eaten? The ache in his stomach and slight nausea were apparently from hunger rather than injury.

"How long was I out for?" he asked.

Taichi shrugged. "Not sure exactly, but it's about half nine now. I'm waiting for the others to wake up so we can sort out a plan. With any luck that will be soon, because we're gonna run out of time otherwise."

"Run out of time?"

"Ahh, right, yeah. You were asleep," Taichi said. "Well, I spoke to the others last… before I went to sleep, and basically everyone but Ken's been here once now. Mimi and Jou might need some help when they reach this side, so Miyako was saying that we should work on a plan once we'd all had some rest."

There was something about Taichi's voice which rubbed him up the wrong way. It was too bright and cheerful, especially considering the news he was breaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noting the way Taichi froze for a moment.

Taichi sighed. "Look, I dunno when Takeru's gonna wake up, okay? And I don't want him hearing all this right away. He's too young to have it all on his shoulders."

Koushiro raised his eyebrows a little. "He's older than we were when we got stuck in the Digital world."

"That's not the point," Taichi said, frowning. He looked around at the sleeping boy, then at Patamon. "Not a word of this, until I say so, okay?" he said to the little digimon.

Patamon nodded.

"Good. We'll break it slowly, not all at once," Taichi said. He kept his voice low as he continued. "The fact of it is, Sora's missing too, along with Piyomon, and I woke up to a message from Miyako saying that wherever it was that Mimi wound up, someone tried to _shoot_ her. With guns, not bows and arrows like they have here in the Forest. Jou almost got trapped in a landslide, and Hikari has to make it out of that cave they sent her into, carrying a load of batteries for backup power, and towing Tentomon, who's never even been here before - and Alwyn, who _has_ to make it because he's the one carrying the bribe for that monster in there. Oh, and as if things weren't bad enough, the others got a message from Gennai saying that there's something wrong in the digital world, which _has_ to be connected, and we're down to Daisuke and Iori to check it out, because there's every reason to suppose that Ken's going to wind up here sometime soon, and we need Miyako to fill in for you and keep tabs on everyone. So yeah. You could say I'm a little tense."

Taichi's phone bleeped, making them jump. Koushiro watched as Taichi flipped it open and frowned.

"Oh, _yeah_ ," Taichi said, with evident resignation. "And now there's the fact that we're all late for school. Apparently our parents want to know what excuse we should give."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say, thank you so much to everyone who has left a comment recently! I've been a little overly focused on getting the chapters out of the door when I've posted, and neglected thanking people. But honestly, I've been a little overwhelmed by some of the kind things people have said about this story, and I only hope I can keep writing something people enjoy!
> 
> I've taken a bit of a break from HF recently to work on my own novel, and I apologise for the comparative radio silence that doing so has caused. I haven't forgotten about my fanfictions - it's just that my time is being split between a larger number of projects, and this means that each individual one takes me a little longer to write. I know where this story is going, though, and I am determined to reach the end!

_Monday, 8:43am_

Sleep eased slowly into wakefulness. Sora's head was pounding, and it was hard to focus on anything at all, even the strangely hard bed beneath her. Someone was calling her name, over and over.

"Mother?" she said blearily. Her throat felt dry, and she swallowed, trying to bring some moisture into her mouth. "Where… what time is it?"

"Sora!" the voice cried again. "Sora, it's me!"

The odd, floaty feeling behind the pain in her head was easing enough that she knew the voice now.

"Piyomon? But where's mother?"

Rubbing her head, she slowly opened her eyes and found her partner's face scant centimetres from her own. Squeaking with surprise, she rolled away and yelped as her arm smacked into something hard.

"Sora! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Piyomon cried. "I was just so worried about you, because you wouldn't wake up!"

The background behind her partner came into closer focus - something dark and grey? Where _was_ she? It didn't look anything like her bedroom…but she wasn't at home, was she? She was…was…

The room swam lazily into solidity, and she opened her eyes wide, taking in the solid stone walls and ceiling. The room was utterly empty save for her partner and herself, and a thin mattress of some sort which she was laying on. There were no windows, just a large, solid-looking wooden door with no handle.

Something was _very_ wrong with all of this. Where were they, and how had they gotten there?

"Piyo, what happened?" she asked, trying to make sense of the jumble of thoughts in her head. She felt groggy and lightheaded - almost as bad as the time she'd had the flu.

"I don't know what happened, Sora," Piyomon said. She sounded worried. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you, and then you started acting all funny, and then… something hit me and I woke up here, but you wouldn't wake up, Sora. Not for so long! I was really worried about you."

Slowly, head throbbing, Sora managed to sit up. The room seemed to spin for a moment before settling into place. It wasn't large - two of the thin mattresses end on end wouldn't have fitted in _any_ direction. From an upright position she could also see what looked like a mug by the door.

"Where are we?" she asked, leaning back against the wall behind her.

Piyomon sat down beside her. "I don't know, Sora, but I think Yamato might have taken us with him to the other world."

Despite the pain in her temples, Sora's head snapped up. " _Yamato?_ " she cried. "Is he here? Did you see him?"

The past few days were coming back to her now - he was missing. In danger, and no one knew where he was.

"Sora… don't you remember? He came back, and then we all ended up in the strange room, and that man was talking to you."

She stared at her partner. "What? I don't…"

If they had been at home, Sora could almost have believed that Piyomon was playing a trick on her. Even in spite of how out-of-character it would be for her partner. But they weren't. They were in an unfamiliar room in an unknown place, and she had no memory of arriving there. The knowledge that there were gaps in her memory - especially gaps which Piyomon remembered and she did not - was not a nice one.

She scrubbed her forehead for a minute, half hoping that it would somehow set of a wave of memory. After all, there was a chance she was just tired and groggy from being asleep, wasn't there?

When she realised it wasn't working, she slumped forward.

"Piyo," she said, her voice low with worry. "I need you to tell me everything you remember. I don't- the last thing I remember was…was…" She frowned. "I was at Yamato's apartment, and I think I was making tea? But everything from the last few days is all muzzy."

"Sora, are you okay? Did that man hurt you? You told me it was all fine."

She looked up. "I did? Wait, _what_ man? Piyo, I don't remember _anything_ like that."

They stared at each other for a long moment, before Piyomon took a breath.

"Weeeell," she said, tipping her head to one side in that adorable way which meant she was thinking. The familiarity of it gave Sora comfort, even despite their surroundings.

"You mentioned Yamato?" she said, hoping to prompt her partner.

"Yes! You were getting things ready for dinner when he appeared, but he was acting very strange, and then all this black stuff appeared - and it was the same as when he disappeared, so I tried to warn you but I think I was too late. Everything went dark, and then we were in a strange room with lots of furniture like in those films you watch where people talk funny."

Despite everything, Sora couldn't help smiling a little at that. Her smile faded completely as Piyomon started talking again, the words coming out in a rush as her partner got caught up with her explanation.

"And then someone grabbed you, and I tried to protect you but there was another man who hit me with a long gun, and then the strange man stared at Yamato and made him fall down. But he told the man with the gun that everything was okay, and then he started staring at _you_ , and you were staring back and not moving. And then you told me that it was alright, but I knew it wasn't, because he told people to take Yamato away and you didn't even look to see where they took him, and I tried to get you to answer, but someone hit me again, and it all went dark and then we were here, and you were asleep, and I tried and tried to get you to wake up, Sora, I really did, but you just stayed asleep, and I was really worried about you."

Piyomon was sobbing by the time she finished, and Sora clung to her desperately, partly to comfort her and partly because the whole situation seemed _horrible_. What could they do? Where _were_ they?

* * *

_Monday, 9:14am_

Miyako opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. Urgh, why was everything so bright? Blinking, she looked around and realised why - she was sleeping on a pad on the floor of Hikari's bedroom, and no one had thought to close the curtains in the chaos of the night before. Sunlight shone through, right into her eyes.

Wait. Daylight. If it was light outside then that meant…

" _Eeek!_ "

She scrambled to her feet, searching for a clock on the wall for a moment before reaching for her D-Terminal instead. Beside her, Mimi, Palmon and Poromon stirred, and she could hear the rustling of bedsheets up on Hikari's bed.

"What's going on?" Mimi asked, as blearily as Miyako felt.

"We overslept!" Miyako cried, throwing back the sheet and trying to straighten her rather crumpled clothes. "It's gone nine - we've got less than three hours until midday!"

Saying it out loud gave her a rush of energy - it certainly made the situation seem more urgent, at any rate. She was pretty sure that she was running on pure adrenaline as she burst through the door into the living room.

Jou looked up blearily from his makeshift bed on the floor, his arm still wrapped around Gomamon. He blinked a few times before patting the ground around him and finding his glasses.

"What…" He looked around. "What time is it?"

"The morning draws on," Alwyn said, lowering a book. "But I do not know the hour."

"It's after _nine_ ," Miyako said. "We need to get everyone up and work something out. I… I hadn't really planned to sleep this long."

There was movement from the sofa. "I don't think any of us did."

Ken sat up, stretching. "One of us should message Daisuke and make sure he's awake. Although I think we can assume he isn't, or we would have been plagued with messages from _him_."

Miyako frowned. "You think he's okay?" she asked. "None of us have stayed in the digital world overnight by ourselves before."

"Well, uh…" Ken cleared his throat, keeping his gaze lowered. "I…"

"Oh, Jou and I were apart from the others for ages," Gomamon announced loudly. "We all got split up more than once, and we were fine."

Jou smiled at his partner, and Miyako belatedly realised the reason Ken looked so awkward. He _had_ been alone in the digital world - for quite a long time. She felt her cheeks turning red, and was glad that everyone had turned away from her so that no one noticed.

"Besides, Daisuke is with Gennai," Jou said. "It's perfectly safe there."

"Mm, Gennai's house is weird, but it's not really dangerous," Mimi added, appearing behind Miyako at the door.

Somehow, despite the fact that they had _both_ been asleep on the floor, Mimi managed to look every bit as neat as she had the day before, whereas Miyako was pretty sure her hair was a mess of tangles.

The door to Taichi's room opened, and Mrs Takaishi emerged, rubbing her eyes. She looked as though she had hardly slept at all. "Is there any news?" she asked.

Miyako shook her head, and headed for the table. "I'm just about to see if Taichi's up," she said. "At least we all followed his advice and got some rest?"

Hikari emerged at the door, and walked over to the table. "We should head to a shop and get a load of batteries," she said. "I'll need to take plenty so that we can keep the D-Terminals working."

The door to Mr and Mrs Yagami's room opened, and Hikari's mother peered around the door. "Everyone's up?" she asked.

Mimi nodded, walking into the kitchen area. "I can make tea, if you don't mind, Mrs Yagami," she said. "We should think about breakfast too."

Mrs Yagami nodded. "I…I've eaten," she said. "I got up earlier, but you've all been so tired that I didn't want to wake you, especially as Taichi wanted you to get enough sleep."

The others bustled around as Miyako started up the laptop, drumming her fingers on the table as she waited for everything to load. Poromon fluttered over and landed in her lap, and she blushed.

"Sorry, Poromon," she said. "I didn't mean to forget you. I guess I'm just a little…stressed?"

"It's okay, Miyako. There's a lot happening. I'm sure you'll work it all out soon."

She hugged her partner, glad for his company. It helped her to believe that he was right, for one.

The laptop _finally_ loaded. Ken pulled up a chair beside her, and their partners hopped down to let them work. In all the chaos of the evening before, they hadn't made a lot of progress translating the document. So far, it only seemed to be telling them things they already knew - and not even in an interesting way.

"Okay," Miyako said, opening the file and reviewing their progress. "So, we have… 'Much may be said of the history and origin of this world. It was formed as a tangent of its parent', bla bla _bla_ , 'the birth of the world shaped its future', something about destiny and eternity, and then we get to the other worlds part."

Ken nodded. "I made a small amount of progress while you were asleep, but just what you see there.

Miyako scanned the rest of the text in the document:

_::Beside are the worlds other than this; they are many, and of different ages each. Brought into existence as reflections, they blossom into full realities independent of their creator. Each is separate and yet as one, for when the balance tips here, so shall it everywhere, until the time-::_

She frowned. It _was_ progress, but not as much as she would have liked.

"Well, I guess we should keep working," she said with a sigh. "It won't translate itself."

The phone rang, making everyone jump. Mrs Yagami dashed over to answer it, smiling awkwardly at the room. Miyako looked around briefly to see that everyone was watching the woman. She wasn't surprised, to be honest.

"Hello? Yagami residence, Mrs Yagami speaking."

There was a pause. Miyako could have sworn everyone in the room was holding their breath.

"Oh, hello Mrs Izumi. No, we haven't heard anything more yet, but Miyako is just checking, isn't that so?"

There was a collective sigh as everyone realised it _wasn't_ news about Yamato or Sora. Miyako nodded, although she'd already noted that there were no news messages since the night before. It was probably past time to give Taichi a wake-up call, anyway. She turned back to the laptop, as Mrs Yagami continued speaking.

"I…Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that. No no, you're right. I'll ask the children what they think. I don't really know what to suggest. Taichi said last night that they're all safe, but they can't get back….Yes, of course. I'll let you know as soon as we hear something." There was a click as she hung up the phone. "Miyako, could you ask Taichi something for me?"

Miyako turned around once more. "Sure thing, Mrs Yagami. What did you want me to ask him?"

"Well, Mrs Izumi just pointed out that you're all missing school right now, and suggested we think of an explanation."

"Uhhh… right. Let's hope he's awake enough to answer that one quickly, eh?" Miyako said. "And, um, I might need to borrow your phone after this to call my parents and tell them about what's going on."

She turned back to the laptop and quickly tapped out a message.

_::Taichi, we have a problem. Your mother just asked me what we plan on telling the schools, because we're all currently missing our first lesson of the day. I meant to ask you last night, but with Sora vanishing and then you going off-radar, it sort of slipped my mind. What exactly can we say?::_

She phoned her parents quickly while waiting for a reply. It wasn't a lot of help - they were annoyed that she wasn't at school, for one - but it passed the time, and at least she was able to explain that she had a really good reason for being absent.

By the time she was able to sit back down, Taichi had replied. Ken was staring at the screen, looking worried.

_::Oh shit. Honestly, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure they won't accept "trapped in another world" as an excuse. I mean, we could try something like, food poisoning - maybe say we all hung out and ate some dodgy chicken. Ask Jou for how to make it convincing. But that only buys a week or two, and it falls apart if they want doctors notes. The other option is…well. Koushiro says we could get our parents to report us missing. It's technically true, and it doesn't have a time limit, but it does mean unwanted attention when we get back. I dunno. This is the one problem we never had to deal with before.::_

"Oh." She sat down next to him. "Are you okay with that?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure _how_ I feel, really. We still can't be _certain_ I'm caught up in this, and we won't know until… either something happens or something doesn't. I don't want my parents to worry, but…"

Mrs Yagami had walked over, almost unnoticed. She frowned at the message on the screen, and then rested a hand on Ken's shoulder.

"Did you want me to invite them over?" she asked. "I feel as though they're about the only ones who haven't been here recently, and, well. It might be easier to explain in person."

"What are we explaining?" Jou asked.

Miyako sighed, and turned to face the others. "Koushiro thinks the best thing we can do is declare everyone missing," she said.

Mimi put her head in her hands. "Well, if my parents decide to move back to America after all this, you'll know why, okay? Why can't we ever have _nice_ adventures?"

"What about you, Daisuke and Iori?" Jou asked.

Miyako frowned, thinking. "Well, if I know Iori, he'll have gone to school today. We can probably expect a message from him at lunchtime to ask what's going on. But Daisuke and I are already skipping lessons, and… I don't know. You need someone here who can keep contact with everyone. If Ken _is_ pulled across, one person won't be enough. I have to sleep. I think we have to go 'missing' too."

"But you're not missing," Mrs Takaishi said. "You're right here."

"Everyone still here after midday could go and wait in the Digital world for a while," Hikari said, pulling the door to her bedroom closed. "We should have a better idea of what's going on by then, and you can't call until you know if Mimi and Jou are going to completely vanish or not."

"Urgh, I don't want to think about that," Mimi said, hugging Palmon tightly.

""We have to," Jou said glumly. "We can't just reappear there without a plan. And if we're going to officially _dis_ appear, we owe it to our families to let them know what's really going on."

"Easy for you to say," Mimi snapped.

"Yes, because _my_ parents have always been so supportive of anything which might disrupt my education!" Jou replied, clenching his fists tightly enough that his knuckles turned white.

"All right, all right, _calm down!_ " Hikari said loudly, face screwed up into a grimace.

Everyone turned to stare at her. Miyako couldn't remember the last time she'd heard Hikari raise her voice. Hikari herself seemed surprised, and clung to Tailmon, shaking a little.

"We're all… upset, or confused, or…or scared," Hikari said, looking at each of them in turn. "And if Taichi were here, I'm sure he'd know just what to say. But he isn't here. He's stuck in another world, and we need to find a way to get him back - because very soon, almost _all_ of us are going to get stuck there. So we need to…to stop all this fussing and just work together. Because I'm pretty sure that's what Taichi would say if he could see us all right now. He's not fussing. He's getting on with it, trying to find a way back. And, well, we should too."

There was a short silence after she finished talking. Miyako drummed her fingers on the table.

"You're right," she said. "We need to make an action plan - and quickly, because there's not a lot of time before midday. Alwyn, what can you tell us about your world?"

* * *

_Monday, 10:25am_

It was a pretty surreal feeling to watch the people of the Forest City winding down for the night, and know that back at home, the others hadn't even had lunch yet. Taichi wondered how they were getting on. Miyako had messaged to say that they were going with Koushiro's plan - which in hindsight, probably _was_ a better idea than his own. Not that he planned on admitting as much. After all, the food poisoning thing had to have been a pretty close second. And he couldn't say he was relishing the thought of his face being plastered all over the news, which it almost certainly would. Now _there_ was a nightmare to have to go home to.

Koushiro was starting to get on his nerves, too. They had been there all of…what, a day? Apparently his friend was in some sort of tech withdrawal - especially as they had agreed to only have one phone switched on at a time to save power. In the absence of a computer, Koushiro had busied himself with what remained of the city's archives. Which meant that _Taichi_ had been dragged along to a dusty, dingy room in a part of the city so old there was no electricity. And it was purely to carry out the sturdier looking books and scrolls into the more modern lighting offered by their new quarters.

"Any chance you're going to explain _why_ you want so many of these damn things that I have to make three trips to carry them all?" he asked, as they made their way back towards the more modern tunnels for the second time.

He was piled high with a heap of books and papers which stank of dust and damp, while Koushiro - thanks to his broken wrist and injured feet - was burdened only by the torch which lit the corridor. The flame really wasn't bright enough for a creepy old place like this. In the wake of a fortnight's nightmares - which had turned out to be _real_ , no less - the flickering shadows everywhere were giving him the crawls.

Koushiro sighed. "Ithel said that no one remembers this prophecy we were mentioned in, because the archives are incomplete and no one has seen the 'Fates' who made the prophecy in over a century. But they do have a lot of books and papers here, and I'm reasonably sure there must at least be _a few_ references to it somewhere. Seeing as I… well. As I appear to be something of an invalid for the time being, I may as well make productive use of my time and see if I can translate anything useful."

"I still can't believe they let you out of bed," Taichi remarked. "You couldn't even _walk_ an hour ago."

Koushiro grimaced. "This is more important," he said shortly. "I can sit down once I have something to do while I'm sitting. We don't have the luxury of wasting time."

"You're limping again. You know they said one dose of that tonic was all you were gonna get today."

"All the more reason to gather as much material to work with before I am rendered immobile once more," Koushiro said, turning away to stare at the wall while he walked.

Taichi felt a prickle of guilt. Had he pushed too far? Koushiro _was_ pretty outside his comfort zone, after all. The Digital world was one thing - it was all code and computers. A whole world practically _made_ for a computer genius to dissect. So far, this place seemed to be pretty much the opposite.

Best to change the subject then, really.

"I wonder if Takeru's awake yet," he said, as casually as he could manage.

"No doubt he needs the sleep," Koushiro replied. "It's a miracle _he_ didn't break anything."

Taichi shook his head. "Nah. I mean, sounds like you guys didn't fall far. You had to have hit at a really unlucky angle to have done your wrist like that, really."

They walked in silence for a few seconds. Koushiro seemed to be limping more than he had a few minutes ago. It didn't help that he only had thin slippers to walk in. They'd been promised fresh clothes in the morning, but apparently that was a good ten or twelve hours off.

"Taichi, is there… a _reason_ for your sheltering Takeru as you have been?" Koushiro asked as they finally reached a stretch of corridor with electric lighting. He left the torch in a bracket on the wall, and used his now-free arm to brace himself as they walked.

Taichi sighed. "I'm not sheltering him Koushiro."

Koushiro didn't answer. After a moment, Taichi sighed again.

"I just… Look, none of us know where Yamato is right now, or what's happened to him. But I know we're gonna find him at some point, and when we do, I don't want him to find out we didn't take care of his little brother, okay? You know what he's like. I mean, I know he'd do the same if it were the other way round."

"Ahh. You're worried about _Hikari_ ," Koushiro said, nodding. "And because you can't look after her, you're being the big brother for Takeru instead."

"No! I mean, well, kinda. But I'm serious about Yamato, too. I know he's out there somewhere, and he'll be expecting me to make sure Takeru's okay. I mean, jeez. You saw his face when he thought Takeru got trapped in wherever it was they were."

They walked through a door propped open by a stack of mouldering books, and Taichi dumped the heap he was carrying onto a desk.

"Right, that's your lot for now," he announced. "No way are you walking any more today…or, tonight, or whatever it is. I'll go fetch Agumon or Tailmon to carry the torch if you really want that last load of books, but you are _resting_."

Koushiro shook his head with obvious impatience. "Don't be ridiculous, Taichi. We don't have time-"

"Bullshit. I was there, Koushiro. They said your arm won't be properly healed for at least a week. You have _plenty_ of time to rest. Hell, you shouldn't even have been doing _this_ much. Takeru is isn't even awake yet, and you're up and walking around? If you don't rest up now, when we _do_ need to move, you won't be ready."

Koushiro sighed. "Are you listening to yourself? A _week_. We don't have the luxury of me being idle for that long. Whatever is going on, it's escalating too quickly for that. We still know virtually _nothing_ about what's going on, or why we're here, or what this world even is!"

Taichi ground his teeth with frustration. Why did Koushiro always have to be so damn _literal_ about everything?

"Look," he said, leaning on the desk and gesturing to the heap of books. "I'm not saying you can't do all…this. I'm just saying, maybe leave off walking for a bit - at least until the _doctors_ can look at your feet without wincing in sympathy. Like I said, I'll even go and fetch the rest of this stuff, okay? Just… sit down. Please. Rest _physically_."

"That's all very well, but without my laptop, I'll need writing materials. A notebook, pens, pencils, whatever they have. And some way of keeping my notes in order, which means I need to find someone-"

" _I'll_ find someone," Taichi said. "Do as the doctor ordered and _sit down_."

He scowled at the other boy until Koushiro sighed once more and sank into the chair by the desk. The look of evident relief on his face as he did so helped convince Taichi that he would stay there.

"Finally," he muttered, and headed for the door.

He'd just reached the corridor when Koushiro called him back. With a sigh, he turned back into the room. Koushiro had already opened one of the books, but wasn't paying it any attention.

"You do realise we may have to leave before my wrist heals? A week is a long time - too long to expect to be able to wait here. I'm not taking risks, Taichi. I'm simply trying to gather what information I can while I have the chance."

Taichi reached up to rub the back of his neck. The only thing worse than Koushiro getting caught up in some weird and obscure kind of quest for knowledge was when it made _sense_. "I know," he said at last. "So, now you've done this, make sure you _can_ leave with the rest of us when the time comes, okay? We're too split up as it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it was something more of an expositional chapter this time. Fear not! It's the lull before the midday storm - and I'm really looking forward to the events which will start to unfold in the upcoming chapters. The second plot arc approaches!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it! After a completely ridiculous couple of weeks, I have an update for HF at last. My apologies that it's taken so long.
> 
> I also want to say a huuuge thank you to everyone who has left comments or given kudos. Honestly, I am continually humbled by how kind people's words are. Thank you so much for your encouragement!
> 
> A quick note before this chapter: Plot bunnies have a lot to say for some of the action here. Although I have the general shape of the story planned out, when it comes to the minor plots, things do change as I'm writing. This is exactly what happened this time. I originally planned (and wrote) a whole PoV section which I've had to move to the next chapter because the second and fourth sections of this chapter came along and more or less overwrote everything. When I mentioned the "midday storm", even I didn't plan for it to be this hectic. But it works, and I'm happy with it, so hopefully it's as fun to read as it was to write. And it will actually get things moving a little faster, so that's no bad thing either!

_Monday, 11:40am_

"She's asleep," Mimi said, walking into the living room and shuddering. "That was really creepy."

Daisuke nodded. "Yup," he said. "You did pretty much the same thing last night,"

He yelped as Miyako clipped him round the ear.

"What was that for?"

She rolled her eyes at him, apparently annoyed. "Would you _think_ before talking for once?"

Daisuke shrugged. "Well it's true, isn't it?"

He didn't add that since it was _Mimi_ he was talking to, he didn't think she'd mind. Miyako ought to know that anyway, and stop fussing so much. Ever since he'd got back from the Digital world, the others had done nothing but fuss and bother. What was the point? It was just wasting time that could be better used getting on with things.

If he was honest with himself, it didn't help that he was getting frustrated at having to wait before he could return there and get to work finding out what the problem was. Being called to Earth just so that he could personally tell his family he needed to go missing seemed…well, okay, it _was_ the decent thing to do. But honestly, under the circumstances, Miyako and Ken could have picked a better time, or just done it themselves. Those distortions were apparently getting worse, and he'd still only got a pretty distant look at them, having been told not to get too close without backup.

And then he'd come back to the real world only to find that no one was even _doing_ anything. They were all just waiting around for midday so they could see who would be left. He wasn't needed here. He _was_ needed back in the Digital world, where he could do more than just stand by and watch as Hikari suddenly got so tired that she fell asleep practically standing up, and had to be carried into her room.

"So, here's a question," he said, frowning. "How come Hikari just fell asleep, and the rest of you didn't?"

"That…is actually a good point," Miyako said, planting herself back down at the laptop. She looked up at the others. "How are you two…I mean _three_ doing?"

Mimi frowned. "Tired," she said glumly. "And I was fine a few minutes ago."

Beside her, Palmon reached up and patted Mimi on the hip. "Don't worry, I'll be more careful this time and protect you properly."

Jou sighed. "I can't say I feel particularly energetic right now either," he said, even more gloomy than Mimi had been. "We might not be asleep yet, but I don't think it'll be long."

Everyone turned to face Ken, who shook his head. "I'm fine," he said quickly. He pulled his chair back over to the table and sat down. "There's no reason to suppose I'll be affected, anyway. Everyone else has crossed over at night when they were naturally asleep."

Daisuke nodded. "He's got a point. So, what. We wait for Jou and Mimi to get back and then head back to the Digital world? Because if we're doing that, we should make the most of our chance and investigate those distortions properly."

Alwyn cleared his throat, and they turned to look at him. "A noble intention, but is it wise to make assumptions of that sort? Your companions have previously been in some distress upon their return. Might it be best to observe their emotional state prior to making decisions?"

Daisuke fully expected Mimi to make some sort of comment about that. She'd certainly been pretty snippy with everyone so far that morning. Instead, she just yawned.

"I think Alwyn has a point," Ken said. "It's best not to make hard and fast plans until we know more. Iori will be here after he finishes school, too, and we don't yet know what he will decide to do."

"Well, he'll want in, right?" Daisuke said. "I mean, he's one of us."

"That doesn't mean we should just make assumptions," Miyako said. She didn't even look up from the laptop. "I mean, for the time being, he _could_ carry on going to school and help out afterwards, like we did before. Until Gennai works out a way to fix whatever's going on, all you can do is keep watch, right?"

"Urghh," Mimi said. "I feel a little…" She staggered, and almost collapsed onto the sofa.

Daisuke lurched forward and managed to catch her before she fell. He groaned. Mimi was a lot heavier than she looked. Alwyn flew over, and took one of her arms over his shoulder. Between them, they lowered her to the ground. When Palmon shook her shoulder and called her name, she didn't so much as twitch.

By the time Daisuke stood and looked, Jou was already unconscious on the sofa. Gomamon said nothing, but the look of worry on the little digimon's face made speech unnecessary.

"I've made a note of the time," Ken said. "We should lay Mimi down in Hikari's room, quickly. If she doesn't vanish, it would be too easy to bump into her here."

Mrs Yagami returned from the shops as they carried Mimi into the bedroom.

"I think I bought the whole shop's worth of batteries," she remarked. Looking around, she sighed, sadly. "They're asleep already?"

"I'm afraid so," Ken said, getting to his feet. "Here, let me help you with that."

Mrs Yagami smiled. "Thank you, but I can manage. I'll go sit with Hikari until…until it's time."

Daisuke passed the time until midday trying to find stuff to do. It was alright for Miyako and Ken - they were working on their translation thingy, and talking to Gennai about what was going on in the Digital world - which was where _he_ ought to be. Not sat there in the Yagamis' living room, trying to think of what exactly was the right thing to say to a digimon about to follow his partner into a potential landslide. The closer midday got, the more subdued Gomamon seemed to be, watching Jou with a concern that seemed pretty out of character to Daisuke. He'd never really pegged Gomamon as the worrying sort, unlike Jou.

A couple of minutes before the hour, Alwyn made his way into Hikari's room. Tentomon hovered beside him holding Hikari's schoolbag, which they had dumped the batteries and a few charging leads into.

The two mothers both hugged Alwyn, asking him to pass on their love to Taichi and Takeru when he saw them. Daisuke shifted awkwardly. Why did parents always have to get so _emotional_ over stuff? They could talk to everyone using the D-Terminals, couldn't they? He looked away, wondering what _his_ family would do if he was trapped in another world. His parents had downplayed any Digital world stuff since finding out about it. They were proud of him, sure - they'd said as much to anyone who understood what had happened. But they weren't exactly the sentimental type, and they didn't really seem all that comfortable talking about digimon.

Midday. He didn't need a clock to know when it was - black clouds billowed out of nowhere to wrap around Hikari, Mimi, and Jou. He just had time to see Alwyn and Tentomon grab hold of Hikari's arm when Miyako shrieked in panic.

He turned and saw Ken fall out of his chair, one hand loosely pressed against his head. The faintest trace of shadowy clouds flickered around him as he landed heavily on the floor.

"Get back!" Daisuke cried, seeing Miyako about to reach out to him.

The shadows lasted a few short seconds before fading away. Ken groaned.

"What…what happened?" he said groggily.

Daisuke leant against the wall, feeling the surge of adrenaline start to fade. "I dunno for sure," he said. "But it looks like your number almost got called."

* * *

_Monday, 12:13pm_

The mountaintops looked beautiful by night, their snowy peaks almost glowing in the starlight. For a few minutes, Jou simply gaped, taken aback by the beauty of the place. It was one of the most peaceful and tranquil sights he'd ever seen.

"Hey, Jou," Gomamon said at last. "Isn't this the same mountain as before?"

Jou frowned, and looked carefully at their surroundings. There was only a thin sliver of moon, but the stars were more than bright enough to illuminate the whole valley.

"You're right," he said after a minute or two. "But…that landslide. There should be rocks and debris everywhere. It's as though it never happened!"

He turned full circle trying to look for any sign of the rocks that had fallen on them, then looked up at the sheer rock face beside him. The silhouette it cast against the stars looked eerily familiar.

"I don't like this at all," he said. "There's something wrong about this place. We should move."

"But which way?" Gomamon asked. "Up or down?"

Jou tapped his chin, thinking.

"Up," he said at last. "If there _is_ another landslide, we won't be able to outrun it going down the mountainside. And if we climb the mountain, we might yet find a sign as to where the others are."

Gomamon smiled. "Just like old times!" he exclaimed. "This way!"

Jou stared at his partner for a moment, then laughed. "I suppose it is," he said. "Do you know, I'd almost forgotten that."

It wasn't too difficult to find a path up the rocky slope, although there were several patches where the footing was loose and unstable. Gomamon's size made the going a lot slower though, and Jou couldn't shift the feeling that they had to get to higher ground _quickly_. After a few minutes, he picked his partner up, and sat him on his shoulders.

"I need you to keep an eye out," he explained. "You can see more from up there."

"Well of course I can," Gomamon replied. "You'd be really lost without me, you know."

Jou smiled, despite himself. True, they were stranded in a mysterious and probably hostile world, on a mountain that may or may not be about to collapse on top of them at any moment, but it _was_ nice to just spend time with Gomamon again. When all this was over - and he sorely hoped that it would be soon - he'd have to make more of an effort to fit in some time around his studies. Or even to take a leaf out of Mimi's book and study _in_ the digital world, if that was possible.

The walls grew closer on either side of them as they neared the top of the mountain, with rocky crevices here and there that looked as though they might be caves. They stopped briefly by one of the smaller ones after Gomamon thought he saw a light, but on closer inspection they couldn't see signs of anything at all. It was a small black opening and nothing more, barely even large enough for Jou to squeeze through - not that he planned to try. There was no way he intended to venture into a dark cave without some kind of light source.

"Perhaps there was a smooth surface inside," he said eventually. "It must have been reflecting the starlight somehow."

Gomamon said nothing, but turned to stare at the opening as they moved on.

"Hey, Jou," he remarked after they had been climbing for a short while longer. There was a note in Gomamon's voice which belied his would-be complacency.

Jou halted, clinging on to a boulder he was trying to get past. "What is it? Can you see something?"

"Well, you know how the sky here is pretty bright, even in between the stars?"

"Mhmm?"

"There's a black patch right above us, and it's getting bigger."

Jou swore, and scrambled over the boulder, uncomfortably aware of the target that he and Gomamon made against the rock. Why had he put Gomamon on his shoulders? His partner's body was _white_ ; they probably stood out like a sore thumb amongst all this grey and brown.

There was a tiny hollow at the base of the rock they had scaled; a gap formed by the curve of the boulder where it had come to rest on the mountainside. Thinking fast, Jou slid his partner off his back and into the space, crouching down beside it. He looked up, trying to see the dark patch in the sky. There was nothing but the stars, a glittering veil stretched over the sky without interruption. No clouds, either. Whatever it was Gomamon had seen, it was alive. His thoughts shifted uncomfortably to the whatever-it-was that had attacked Takeru.

"Jou, what are you doing?" Gomamon asked.

He shook his head, patting himself down, and grimaced. "Damn it. I don't have my digivice, he muttered. "Which means that whatever that thing is, we're defenceless. And you stand out, so you have to hide, okay? Maybe it'll pass over without seeing us."

They were fortunate, really. He'd come straight from cram school before, so he still had his school jacket on. The dark material would help camouflage him. All he had to do was keep his head down and they'd both be safe, right?

A deafening, high-pitched shriek split the night air. Why had he thought that? Why? When did _anything_ ever work out the way he hoped? He'd probably doomed them both with his optimism. He huddled closer against the rock, trying to hold his blazer in such a way that it obscured his shirt from whatever creature it was that flew above them.

The next shriek was closer, and accompanied the growing sound of flapping wings. Jou turned instinctively, and gaped as he saw a giant bat circling overhead, each wing easily longer than he was tall. It shrieked again and he saw the starlight glinting off of long, sharp teeth.

The wings pulled inward and the creature plummeted towards them, mouth wide. It shrieked as it fell, and Jou felt his stomach churn. If it got him, Gomamon would be exposed and helpless. What could his partner do against something like _this_? In the heat of the moment, there was only one thing he could think to do.

"Stay there!" he yelled, and made a break for the cave they had passed. If he could lure the creature away, it wouldn't see Gomamon in his hiding place, and it was too large to fit through the opening.

"Jou!" Gomamon cried from somewhere behind him. He didn't dare look back to make sure his partner had stayed put.

The rocks were treacherous underfoot, but he didn't care. He just had to get a little way further…

Something beneath him shifted and he tripped, screaming as he felt his ankle twist beneath him with a sickening crunch. He landed heavily on the rocky mountain slope and rolled over to see the bat swooping towards him with a wide mouth full of fangs. It landed a short way in front and leapt forward, reaching out with the clawed hands on the tip of its wings.

Jou just had time to acknowledge the sick feeling in his chest that said he'd made a terrible mistake - and then the world cut out.

* * *

_Monday, 12:13pm_

The first thing which surprised Mimi when she found herself in the city again was that there were street lights, and they actually _worked_. What kind of place _was_ this? There was no one around to need the lights, and surely if the city was abandoned, the power ought to have stopped working too. It was eerie.

The second thing which surprised Mimi was that she and Palmon had reappeared in the same spot they'd started in last time, instead of the place they'd disappeared from.

"This is really creepy," she said quietly. Something about the silent, empty streets was making her feel nervous. "Takeru got hurt because he reappeared in mid-air, so why are we back here?"

Palmon looked around, keeping close. "I don't know, Mimi. But do you have your digivice with you? Something about this place feels dangerous."

It was nowhere in sight. What was it that Koushiro had messaged them to say? That it might be because she wasn't _really_ here? If her body was still in the real world covered in shadows, it couldn't be standing in the city. Well, that made sense, although everything felt real enough. It was also the only explanation anyone could think of for how Palmon had been shot and yet returned to the real world without any visible injuries.

Of course, the last thing she remembered of being in the real world was standing in the living room, so the fact that she didn't have her digivice didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't real and was therefore safe. Had she actually been carrying it when she'd fallen asleep? And - more to the point - did she _really_ want to place all her trust in a theory which she didn't especially understand, when her and Palmon's _lives_ could be at stake?

She sighed. "Well, you're stuck as you are, Palmon, but I don't know if it means we're safe or not. I don't think I want to take any chances, either way. Koushiro's smart enough, but his theories have been wrong before."

"What do we do now?" Palmon asked. "Should we look around?"

It was eerily quiet. There was hardly a breath of wind, and the streets managed to look even more barren and lifeless under the artificial lights than they had during the strange world's day.

Mimi swallowed heavily. The silence was getting to her, making her feel exposed and vulnerable. What if they were caught, standing out in the middle of the street? Palmon couldn't evolve, which sorely hampered their ability to defend themselves.

"I don't feel safe out here," she said at last. "If something comes along, we'll be spotted really easily. We should try and find somewhere a little less in the open."

Palmon nodded. "One of the houses?"

"Umm…"

She frowned, looking at the buildings on either side of the street. They didn't look at _all_ welcoming, and although the brightly lit streets were unnerving her, she wasn't sure she wanted to wander around one of them in the dark, either.

"Maybe we should see if we can find a light or something first," she said. "I wish I had my bag with me - I made sure to pack a torch."

They walked softly, trying to disturb the silence as little as possible. Now and then they would halt, sure that they'd heard something move, but there was never any sign, and the faint noises they _did_ make echoed around the empty streets so that it was hard to tell where a sound was coming from anyway.

"I don't like this," Mimi whispered after a few minutes. They had reached a junction with a larger street, and had a choice of turning left towards a large, partly collapsed building which looked a little like a church, or right along a section of road where one or two of the lights had failed.

"Maybe we should turn back?" Palmon said.

Mimi folded her arms. "But what does that do?" she asked. "We're stuck here no matter which way we go, and I'd rather explore different places and find out more than just sit somewhere and not know what's going on or how we get home." She strode out into the middle of the junction, and looked from left to right along the street.

"We'll go right," she said at last, turning her back on the ruined church. "That way's a dead end, so there's no point taking a look. And, see? If we go along this way, I think I can see some buildings with lights on further down the road. It's not far. We can do this, right Palmon?"

She clenched her hands into fists, and smiled at her partner. As long as she kept motivated, they had to be able to find a way back home eventually, right?

Despite her bold words, they kept close to the wall along one side of the street as they approached the darker stretch. With the light from the lamps on either end, and the stars above, it wasn't _truly_ dark. Still, Mimi couldn't help but feel a little nervous. What if those soldier-type people came back?

She bit her lip and pressed on, Palmon close behind her. Just a little further along and then..

"Hey, Mimi," Palmon whispered. "I can see a light in that building!"

Mimi turned to see where her partner was pointing. Sure enough, inside one of the houses they were passing, something was lit up.

"Do you think someone _lives_ here still?" she asked, looking around. There was a patch of dry, dead grass nearby. "It doesn't seem like anyone _could_ live here."

"I don't know," Palmon said. "What should we do, Mimi?"

They sat in silence for a moment. Nothing moved anywhere. There wasn't even a breeze to rustle the scattered patches of grass and plantlife, or jostle some of the debris abandoned here and there.

"I say we take a look," Mimi said. "This place is creepy, and I hate being outside like this. I feel like something could be sneaking up on us, and if those soldiers come back they might shoot at us again. Lets get indoors where it's safer."

Palmon nodded, and followed as Mimi made her way across the street to the house with the light inside. It held steady, like the electric lights everywhere else. _Could_ there be someone still hanging on in this city? There had to be a reason those soldiers were wandering around, after all. Visions filled her head of a secret resistance, hiding out in the empty buildings to escape the patrols, just like in action films.

The front door was ajar. She pushed it lightly, wincing as it swung open with a gentle _creeeaak_. Inside, the hallway was dark, but the layout seemed the same as the house they'd explored last time. If that was the case, the light was coming from the kitchen.

Doorways to the rooms on either side of the hall loomed like voids in front of them. The doors were wide open. Mimi took a deep breath and crept along the darkened hallway to the closest of them and peered inside.

The shutters which every house seemed to possess instead of glass were missing, allowing starlight to illuminate the room. It seemed to be a sitting room of some sort, with sofas and side tables. Bookshelves lined one wall, although most of the books were on the floor, along with a thick layer of dust and debris. It looked as though no one had been inside in years.

_But there has to be a reason for the light_ , Mimi thought. _And if they_ are _hiding, of course they couldn't stay at the front of the house. Those soldiers would see them._

Palmon had tiptoed over to the other doorway, and Mimi went to see what her partner had found. To judge by the furniture, it was a study, which looked equally untouched. Mimi shook her head when Palmon mimed going into the room, and pointed to the light instead.

There was one more opening before the room she guessed to be the kitchen. At the end of the hallway was a flight of stairs going up, and a doorway down to what had to be a cellar. She'd refused to go down into the cellar of the house they'd been in last time, and that had been during this world's day. There was no way she wanted to risk getting stuck down there at night.

She and Palmon crouched on the side of the door with hinges before reaching out to push it further open. After all, who knew what could be on the far side? She'd been caught out once already thanks to not taking enough care, and there was no way she planned to make the same mistake twice.

The light from inside the room spilled out into the hallway, but there was no sound of movement from the room itself. She waited a full minute before looking at Palmon and nodding. They stood, and walked through the open doorway, then halted abruptly.

The room had been ransacked. No cupboard seemed left untouched, and the furniture had been overturned and partly smashed on the floor. Pots and pans lay scattered amid the wreckage, and broken glass littered the floor from smashed bottles and jars. Worst of all, everything was coated in a thick enough layer of dust that she knew it had lain undisturbed in this state for a long, long time.

Whatever it was that she had been expecting, it wasn't this. As Palmon took a step into the room and picked up a copper pot, Mimi leant against the wall and sighed.

"What now?" Palmon asked, turning back to face her.

"I don't know," she said. "I was so _sure_ that someone had to be here…"

_Scrunch_.

The sound came from the hallway. Mimi threw herself away from the wall and backed into the room, crouching down and grabbing the nearest hard object - another copper pan, slightly smaller than the one Palmon had picked up.

She wielded it in front of her as a weapon as they heard a curious rattling sound, like dry rice pouring into a bowl. Her heart felt as though it was beating in her mouth.

Something growled softly, and the rattling grew louder.

"Palmon, _RUN!_ " Mimi cried.

She grabbed her partner's hand and bolted towards the utility part of the house. Turning the corner, she shrieked as she almost ran into a large, black creature, and brought her makeshift weapon down hard across its head. It yelped, much like a dog, and backed up enough for her and Palmon to dash past it into the garden.

Unlike the previous house, this garden had stone walls, with a long-dead creeper growing up and over them. There was no obvious way out; from the lack of streetlights, Mimi guessed it backed onto other gardens instead of the road.

"What _are_ those things?" she cried, as Palmon took up a guard position between her and the door.

Palmon shook her head and held out her arms. She lashed the first creature to emerge with her poison ivy attack. It darted back into the house with a rattling of spines.

"Whatever they are, they sure aren't friendly," she cried.

A sound above made them both look up. Luminescent eyes glinted at the upstairs windows.

"Oh _no_ ," Mimi said, her voice little more than a despairing murmur.

As the first one leapt down, she readied her saucepan, trying not to let her fear show. There was no way she planned on letting her partner face those things alone.

* * *

_Monday, 12:42pm_

Jou's terrified yell almost made Ken jump out of his skin. He whirled around to stare at the sofa, noting that Daisuke was already on his feet along with Mrs Takaishi. Jou and Gomamon had faded into near-nothingness a few minutes before - no one was expecting them to return so soon after that.

The black clouds that accompanied his return had barely disappeared before everyone knew something was wrong. Jou had materialised awkwardly on the sofa, and was looking around, clearly terrified.

"Gomamon," he murmured. "Where's Gomamon? Is he okay?"

Daisuke's face had turned grey. Ken ran over and immediately saw the reasons why.

Two things struck him. The first was that Jou's ankle was contorted at a very unnatural angle, and the second was that the little digimon was nowhere in sight.

"Jou, what happened?" Daisuke asked.

Jou shook his head, and tried to sit up, crying out with pain as his foot brushed the floor. He looked down at it, apparently surprised, then turned his attention to the rest of the room.

" _Where's Gomamon?_ " he asked again. "He's here, isn't he? He _has_ to be!"

Ken darted around the sofa to sit beside the older boy. "It's okay," he said. "We'll find him, I promise." He looked down at Jou's ankle and winced.

Jou stared at him, an expression of terror plastered all over his face. "No, you don't understand," he said, trying to stand up. He fell back with a yelp. "We were attacked… if he's still there…"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Miyako said, walking over. "I'm sure there's a solution to this somewhere, okay?"

Jou shook his head. He was breathing rapidly, and hardly seemed aware of where he was. "I have to go back," he said. "I have to help him - he's all on his own, and that _thing_ will find him!"

Daisuke shook his head. "But that's not how it works, right? You can't go back 'til midnight."

Jou put his head in his hands, muttering something unintelligible to himself. Ken reached out and placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

"I'm…I'm sure Gomamon knows how to stay safe," he said, feeling awkward.

Jou shook his head. "It…it'll _hear_ him," he moaned. "I shouldn't have left him…"

"Ken, look out!" Miyako shrieked. Before he could look around to ask what she meant, the world turned grey at the edges. Something landed heavily on his back just his vision cut out altogether, and he had the strangest sensation of being _pulled_.

A wave of fear and dread rose up to swamp him, and he passed out.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, thirty chapters! I am super excited to have reached another milestone, and again, I am enormously grateful to everyone reading this. This is turning into a wild ride, and I'm happy there are so many of you coming along with me! I hope you're still enjoying the story!

_Monday, 12:44pm_

Ken was jolted awake by a hard landing onto rocks and stone, and found himself lying out in the open beneath a starlit sky. He opened his eyes just in time to see a huge black shape swoop overhead, screeching with fury. Moments later, Ikkakumon launched an attack at it, which missed by scant inches and went crashing into the rock face nearby. A rain of debris fell down, landing with a clatter and sending up great clouds of dust.

He flung his arms over his face just in time to shield himself from the pebbles and rock shards which peppered the ground. The dustcloud enveloped him; grit found its way into his eyes, mouth and nose. Coughing and spluttering, he rolled onto his side, halting sharply as he heard a cry of protest. _Wormmon?_ What was going on?

Ken grabbed his partner and held the little digimon close as Ikkakumon attacked again. He looked around for Jou, and found him lying sprawled on the ground a short distance away, clutching at his leg. Everything was utterly bewildering, but one thing seemed clear - they were in serious trouble. Clutching Wormmon tightly, he scrambled over to Jou, keeping an eye on the battle overhead. The flying creature was simply too fast for Ikkakumon to hit.

More screeches sounded, some distance away, and Ken looked up in horror to see another two giant bats flying closer. No wonder Jou had been worried. Without being able to evolve, Gomamon wouldn't have stood a chance. But… he _had_ evolved. Although they must have been pulled across at the same time, Ikkakumon had already been fighting when Ken had landed.

The sensation of having missed something - lost out on precious moments that gave context - was not a pleasant one. He had enough blank patches in his memory as it was. Filling this one in would have to wait though, because as he reached Jou he realised that there was no way the older boy could move quickly enough for them to escape.

"Wormmon, I need you to evolve, _fast_ ," he said. "We have to get rid of those things, and Ikkakumon's barely holding off one, let alone three."

He remembered about the brightness just too late to cover his eyes, and found himself blinking away an afterglow as Stingmon took to the air. Half-blinded, he turned to Jou, who hardly seemed to have noticed him at all.

"Can you move?" he asked, despite knowing the answer. What he really wanted was for Jou to _respond_.

For a moment he worried that Jou was in too much shock to have heard him, and then the older boy shook his head. Ken just about saw the grimace on Jou's face past the spots on his vision.

"Broken," Jou gasped. "Ikkakumon…is he okay?"

Ken nodded, then realised that Jou had his eyes screwed tightly shut with pain.

"He's fine," he said, coughing up more dust. "Stingmon's there too."

An inhuman screech rent the air, and one of the bats crashed to the ground nearby. One down, two remaining. Ken looked around anxiously - they were caught out in the open, with no real way of defending themselves while their partners were fighting.

Even as he watched, one of the bats pulled up sharply to avoid Stingmon's attack. His partner lurched, but couldn't turn in time to avoid the rock face. Stingmon landed with enough force that Ken winced. More debris rained down as the digimon launched himself at the bats again.

"We have to get out of here," Ken said.

Jou nodded, but made no other signs that he'd heard him. Given the pain he had to be in from his ankle, Ken suspected he was too delirious to fully understand what was going on.

They were stranded on what looked like a mountain gully, a few hundred metres from its highest point. No lights shone out from the valley below - whatever this place was, it looked about as far from civilisation as anyone could get. Ken wished he knew more about first aid - Jou certainly didn't look in any sort of state where he could advise the best course of action.

"Ken, look out!" Stingmon cried, landed close by.

He flinched, and pivoted around just in time to see his partner grab one of the bats and throw it against the rock face. It hit with a sickening crack and fell down, twitching. The third bat screeched loudly, and took to the skies. It swerved in the air, dodging Ikkakumon's attack, and fled.

Ken shielded his eyes as both digimon devolved. He was too stunned by the whole turn of events to react when Gomamon ran over, crying Jou's name. The world seemed to skip a little, and the next thing he was aware of was Wormmon pressing into his arm, asking him if he was okay. He flinched.

"I…I'm fine," he said. "Just a little…where _are_ we?"

Gomamon looked around. "Jou wanted to go up there and see if we could find out," he said. "And then those… _things_ appeared."

The batlike creatures remained where they had fallen. The one which Stingmon had thrown into the rock face was still moving a little. Ken swallowed hard. These weren't digimon, to disappear into reconfigurable data upon defeat. They were flesh-and-blood animals, leaving bodies behind. One of them was still alive and in pain. He felt sick.

He got to his feet, unsure whether he wanted to take a closer look at the thing, or if he wanted to try and reach the highest point of the gully and look out. The rusty iron tang of blood hung in the air, making him dizzy. The one thought that kept running through his head - against all logic - was that they needed to find the others. But how?

"Ken," Wormmon said. "I think you should sit down. You look like you're about to fall over."

He stared at his partner, frozen with indecision. His thoughts seemed to be arriving in slow motion - that or the world had somehow sped up. It was impossible to shake the feeling that he needed to decide what to do _quickly_ , but the only things he could focus on weren't helping at all.

"Shock," Jou said, his voice tight with pain. "Ken, sit. Now."

His body seemed to respond to the command without the intervention of his brain; knees folding to dump him on the ground once more. He stared blankly at his partner.

"I…I don't know what to do," he said.

Jou eased himself into a sitting position and straightened his glasses as best he could - the frame had twisted slightly.

"It's okay," the older boy said, although Ken could tell by his tone of voice that it wasn't. "We're safe for the moment, so… _nng_ … we have time to stop and think. Just…breathe slowly. Focus on something - a rock, or…count stars out loud."

Unerringly, Ken found his eyes drawn to the twitching body by the rock face. Its movements were more sluggish and laboured than they had been at first - it had to be succumbing to whatever injuries it had sustained. His breath hitched in his throat. They'd _killed_ it.

"Hey, what's that?" Gomamon asked.

Numbly, Ken looked to where the little digimon was pointing. Further down the slope, there was a light coming from one of the crevices in the walls of the gully. As he watched, it grew brighter and brighter.

"I _told_ you there was a light, Jou!"

"What's making it?" Wormmon asked.

Ken couldn't think of an answer to that. Apparently, nor could Jou. They watched in silence as the light grew brighter, filling the whole crevice before emerging from it in the form of a lantern. The carrier was an unnaturally short and stocky person, who was followed by several companions.

"Gomamon…"

"I'm ready, Jou. Ha, I bet they're no match for me!"

"Halt! Who goes there!" one of the strangers cried.

"Hey, look," said another. "There's two o' them damned Olitiau! Hoi! Were it you wot dun for 'em?"

"Yeah, and we can take you on too if you threaten our partners!" Gomamon cried. "Right, Wormmon?"

"Of course! I won't let anyone hurt Ken."

Ken's eyes widened. "No, wait!" he cried. " _We_ don't want to hurt anyone!"

There was a short silence. "Who in the name of the Fates are _you_?" the lantern-bearer said, walking closer.

As the short man approached, Ken made out a gnarled, scarred face framed by greying hair and a thick, bushy beard. His face was set in a deep frown, but it seemed to be a confused rather than an angry one.

_He could almost be a…a…dwarf._

A short, desperate laugh bubbled up inside him, and before he knew what was happening, tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"It's shock," he heard Jou say in a strained voice. "He…well, we both need assistance. We're Chosen Children, and these are our partners."

_This isn't happening_ , he told himself, as the strangers introduced themselves. _I didn't go from translating a prophecy to being stuck in an alternate world in the space of a minute. Any moment now, I'm going to wake up, and this will all be a strange, stress-induced dream._

He didn't wake up. Not as a dwarf helped him to his feet and Wormmon leapt into his arms. Not as he watched someone strap Jou's ankle into a splint and the older boy's eyes rolled back into his head. Not as a stretcher was brought out of a cave and Jou was carried inside, with Gomamon sat on his chest, watching everyone warily. Not as he made his own way into the cave, and found the steps down into the mountain were lit by small, old-fashioned lightbulbs. After a while, the walking began to blur in his mind; step after step merged into a dream, until time skipped once more and he found himself sitting with Wormmon in a comfortable chair beside a bed, where Jou lay asleep. Gomamon sat by his partner.

Ken blinked. It was real. All of it. Not a dream, which meant he had to deal with the fact he was stranded in another world, and worry about everything else later. He could do that, couldn't he?

"My…my D-Terminal," he said to himself, fishing around in his pockets. "I should tell the others I'm okay."

Wormmon smiled up at him. "Take all the time you need, Ken. I'm sure they'll understand."

Ken hugged his partner. At least he was stranded in good company.

* * *

_Monday, 12:44pm_

"Ken, look out!" Miyako shrieked. Black shapes were flickering around Jou, but by the time the words made it out of her mouth it was too late. Wormmon dived onto his partner just as the clouds billowed up and swallowed them. A moment later all three were gone.

Seconds ticked by in silence. Miyako had a feeling that everyone was just as shocked as she felt.

"Another fear gate," she said at last. "That has to be what it was, right? Jou was so worried about Gomamon that it pulled him back."

Daisuke nodded. "But, they're totally gone this time. That means they have all their stuff with them, right?"

She nodded. "We won't know for sure until they either come back or message us, but I would think so. Now we just have to hope they _do_ come back. I don't really want to have to explain to Mrs Ichijouji that Ken isn't just _pretending_ to be missing any more."

Mrs Takaishi shook her head. "We won't ask you to," she said. "I know you're all doing everything you can. The least we can do is take on the burden of sharing news, right Yuuko?"

Mrs Yagami opened her mouth to speak, but they never found out what she was going to say because she was cut off by the sound of Mimi screaming hysterically.

Miyako raced for the door to Hikari's room, feeling her stomach knot as she saw Mrs Yagami get there first and blanch. She realised why a moment later. Mimi knelt on the floor, clutching Palmon in her arms. Blood dripped from several parallel scratches across her back and arms, and she was filthy.

"Oh _shit!_ " Daisuke said.

The screams subsided, turning instead to choked sobs.

"It's okay Mimi," Mrs Yagami said, her voice wavering. "You're safe now." She walked over and knelt by the girl, touching her lightly on the shoulder. Mimi flinched and gasped, then turned to look at the small group watching her.

"There were so _many_ ," she said, her voice hoarse. "Palmon tried…but she couldn't stop them all. I… I was so scared."

"What were they, Mimi?" Miyako asked. "Not the soldiers from before?"

Mimi shook her head, wincing. As she sat up they saw a long scratch down one side of her face. Palmon lay limp in her arms. Mimi's eyes were filled with tears, but the obvious fear on her face was fading.

"They were… like wolves, only with spikes all over their backs that rattled. You have to get Palmon to the digital world," Mimi said firmly, looking at Miyako. "She's badly hurt, and I want Gennai to make sure she's okay. I…I want to go too, but that's not a good idea right now, is it?"

Miyako shook her head. "We don't know what would happen. But I'll get Daisuke to take her, right now," she said. "I think I need to stay here and make some calls. We're gonna need more help with this."

Mimi straightened, and Mrs Yagami helped her sit up. Palmon didn't so much as flinch when Mimi held her out for Miyako to take.

"I've got the gate all ready," Daisuke called from the other room. "I'm just letting Gennai know we're coming. Me and V-mon will make sure she's safe."

Miyako was shaken. She bit the inside of her lip to ground herself before gathering Palmon into her arms. Mimi had to be terrified for her partner to even consider letting the digimon out of her sight, especially in this battered state. Mrs Takaishi stepped in as Miyako moved away, wiping some of the dust and tears from Mimi's face with a handkerchief.

She carried Palmon carefully into the living room, where Daisuke had already grabbed a towel. He and Chibimon waited by the laptop.

"We can carry her better in this," he explained. "When we get back, I'll get V-mon to evolve and we'll fly straight to Gennai. I told him we're on the way and he reckons she'll be alright once he's had a look at her."

Miyako nodded, side-stepping out of the way of Mrs Ygami as she rushed past and headed into the kitchen. By the time the woman returned with what looked like half the contents of her medical cupboard, Daisuke, Chibimon and Palmon had gone.

She sat down at the laptop, feeling oddly detached. They'd expected midday to bring chaos, sure. They _hadn't_ expected all of this. Poromon flew over and settled into her lap.

"Miyako, are you okay?"

She looked down at her partner, and forced a smile to her face. "I'm fine," she said. "I just…need to work out what to do. Right now, I'm the only one left who knows what's going on, and that's a lot of pressure to handle. I can't afford to mess this up."

"You won't," Poromon said. "I believe in you, Miyako."

Smiling, she hugged Poromon tightly. "Thanks. I needed that," she said, taking a deep breath. She looked at the laptop, reading and re-reading the words she and Ken had translated. They'd made significantly faster progress on the back of a good night's sleep.

_::…when the balance tips here, so shall it everywhere, until the time of a great merging of worlds._

_In this time, darkness shall fall across the land in waves. As a result, children of the parent world shall journey from their homes and redress this imbalance. After restoring the Digital world, the Chosen Children will be pulled across the boundaries between worlds where they are thinnest, to a world-::_

It was maddening, really. So far, everything they'd translated had come too late to be of any use. And with Ken out of the picture, she couldn't help but feel the chances of her actually learning anything useful in time were remote. She ground her teeth. _No. We're going to work this out_ , she thought.

But of course, even the translation would have to wait for now. It was more important to get everyone on the same page. She tapped out a message to Taichi, then sighed. There was no sense pretending they could carry on juggling real-world commitments alongside saving the world this time.

_::Iori. We're going to need you full-time on this one. I'll call your apartment and tell your mother and grandfather what's going on, but you need to head straight to the digital world as soon as you can. The problems are spreading there, and we need as many people as we can to investigate on that side of things. Let me know when you get there, and whatever you do, don't come back to the real world until I say. Daisuke will explain everything else.::_

She sat back, letting her partner settle onto her lap again.

"I feel so alone, Poromon," she said. "Do you think Koushiro ever feels like there's too much pressure on him, when we all go off to fight and he has to stay behind and watch? How does he do it? I feel…I feel like I should be out there, fixing things. Not sat here twiddling my thumbs and…and _wasting_ my time on this stupid prophecy!"

She waved irritably at the laptop, then got to her feet and started pacing back and forth holding Poromon in her arms. How long had she been cooped up indoors now? More than a day, that was for certain. If she didn't get some fresh air soon, she was going to go nuts. She wasn't Koushiro, after all. He coped well with staying put and being the strategist - if this experience was teaching her anything, it was that she did _not_.

"Why didn't I get pulled over instead of Ken?" she muttered. "He'd have been better at this than me."

"But Ken has a crest," her partner pointed out. "If you had gone, after tonight there would be no one here."

She sighed. "I know, Poromon. But knowing I'm doing something important doesn't mean I have to like it."

* * *

_Monday, 13:10pm_

Takeru woke from dreams about dungeons, mountains, and shadowy corridors, to find himself in what _had_ to be a hospital bed. It was in a room with five others, all made up with clinical neatness. He blinked, wondering when _this_ development had happened. It took him a moment to remember that they'd been told something about healers' quarters during their meeting with the Elders. Everything in his memory went a little blurry after that. The corridors in his dreams seemed to be an extension of the ones they had been more or less dragged through.

"Takeru! You're finally awake!" Patamon cried, leaping up from somewhere beside him to hover in front of his face.

Takeru tried to grin, and winced as the movement tugged on various parts of his face. Come to think of it, his whole head felt strange, as though it were fixed in place. What was going on?

His hands turned out to be thoroughly bandaged and almost useless, but he lifted an arm to his head anyway to try and work out what was going on.

"You're not meant to touch them," Patamon said, taking hold of his hand and pulling it back down. "They covered up all the burns with bandages, so now you have to rest and get better."

"Who's 'they'?" he asked, trying not to wince as his partner landed on his stomach. Patamon was not a large digimon - there was no _way_ that ought to hurt.

"All the healers," Patamon replied, face contorting with worry. "They had to use an awful lot, but they said you'd be better again soon."

Takeru sighed, and looked down at his arms. He couldn't see so much as a square centimetre of skin. "Well I sure as anything hope they're right," he said. "I can't do anything like this."

He looked up. "Where is everyone?"

Patamon took to the air. "Ithel gave us somewhere to stay while Koushiro's wrist gets better, so he and Taichi are there now," he said. "I think Taichi said something about Koushiro finding lots of old books, so he went to help carry them because Koushiro can't."

Takeru nodded, and sat up gingerly. Everything ached, and the wound on his shoulder stung like anything - but that was hardly new. "Do you know which way it is from here?" he asked.

Patamon nodded, and then shook his head, landing on the bed beside him. "You have to stay here," he said. "The healer told me you need to rest."

He sighed. "I can rest in those rooms you mentioned, can't I?"

Patamon nodded again, more slowly this time.

"Yeeees, but you need to see one of those healers first. Koushiro couldn't walk until they gave him that drink again."

"Well, he was really tired, right? I don't feel that worn out. I'll be _fine_ , Patamon. Don't worry."

He levered himself to the edge of the bed, trying not to make it obvious that he was struggling to move. Patamon hovered nearby.

"I'm not sure you're meant to do this, Takeru…"

"I don't see the point in sitting here by myself when Taichi and Koushiro might know more about what's going on," he said, nudging the covers out of the way with the back of his hand. "I'm not going to overdo it, I just want to find out where everyone is."

Takeru swung his legs out from beneath the covers, and blinked.

His legs were a mess of bruises and grazes, with a large dressing bandaged around the cut on his left thigh. Both his knees were red raw. And he could see as much because someone appeared to have cut most of his trousers away. What remained would barely pass for shorts.

"Uhh, Patamon, what happened to my clothes?"

Patamon landed on a cabinet beside him and shrugged. "The healer said they got in the way, and they didn't have time to take them off."

Takeru gaped at his partner. " _What?_ " he cried, outraged.

"It looked really serious, Takeru," Patamon said. "I think they were more worried about making sure you were okay."

He sighed. His shirt was missing too, apparently so that his shoulder could be re-bandaged. To judge from how little of his own skin was visible even _after_ that, he knew Patamon had a point. Even so, it left him with something of a dilemma.

"That's all very well," he said, "But what am I supposed to do now? I can't go around looking like _this_."

"The healers and Taichi said you're meant to stay there," his partner pointed out. "So why does it matter?"

Takeru ground his teeth with frustration, and then winced as the movement set off a painful throbbing in his head. There were some concepts which digimon _never_ seemed to fully understand, and the various reasons people had for desiring clothes were one of them. He didn't blame Patamon for that of course, but he did wish that someone had thought ahead to when he would wake up.

"Patamon, what happens when I _have_ rested, and need to move around?"

"Oh, they have clothes they're getting for you for when we go see the Grand Council," Patamon said, shrugging. "But Taichi said they wouldn't be bringing those until morning."

Takeru frowned, despite the tugging of the dressings on his face. "When _is_ morning? What time is it now?"

Patamon looked around thoughtfully. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "Taichi and Koushiro have been gone quite a long time, but it's the middle of the night here so there aren't very many people around."

"Do you know where they went?" Takeru asked. "Where that room is?"

Patamon nodded. "I'll go tell them you're awake! I'm sure Taichi will want to tell you…something," he said, and flew out of the room.

Takeru pulled his legs back under the covers. It was a struggle to shuffle back into the middle of the bed. His attempt to get out of bed had made the sheets underneath him bunch up, and without the full use of his hands he had no way to straighten them again. Moving was also a lot more hard work than he expected it to be. He was out of breath by the time he managed to get back to where he had started.

He leant back and winced as something rubbed his shoulder. So far, the morning - if it _was_ morning - was not off to a good start. He was sore, hungry, _thirsty_ \- and now he was uncomfortable too.

With nothing else to do, he sat back up and tried to listen out for Patamon, or anyone else who might walk by. It was maddening to be stuck there and not know how long he'd been asleep or what he'd missed. And he could no longer even lie back and relax, because every time he moved something hurt. What if there had been news?

He was about ready to give up on dignity altogether and go in search of someone as he was, when he heard movement. Footsteps, and voices speaking softly. A few seconds later, Taichi walked into the room. Patamon flew in behind him and landed on the end of the bed.

"Glad to see you're up," Taichi said. "How are you feeling?"

Takeru sighed. "If I say I'm fine, will you believe me?"

Taichi grinned. "Not a chance. There's a mirror on the cabinet beside you. Have you _seen_ yourself?"

For an answer, Takeru scowled and held up his arms. "I'll need someone to get rid of all this first."

Taichi's face fell. He sighed, and looked away.

"What?" Takeru asked. "What's wrong?"

Taichi shook his head and sat down in the nearest chair. "It's nothing," he said, sighing again. "You looked a heck of a lot like Yamato just then, is all."

He knew it was probably pointless, but he had to ask: "Has there been any word from him? Or news from the others?"

Taichi didn't meet his eyes. "Not yet. And it's all been a bit…chaotic, so we're still waiting to hear how everyone's doing. Hikari is on her way back with some batteries though, so at least we won't have to ration your D-Terminal any more when she gets here."

Takeru blinked. "Huh? On her way _back?_ How long was I asleep?"

Taichi grimaced. "Right, I forgot you missed that part. It's been about… well, gotta be a good twelve hours or so. Hikari sent a message when she got back to the real world to say she was safe. She's got Tentomon with her now, so we'll all have our partners when we're ready to leave."

"I don't think Takeru was awake for that part," Patamon said. "They made him sleep so they could get the poison, remember?"

Takeru flinched, and yelped as the movement tugged on his shoulder. "The _what?_ " He stared at Taichi. "What's going on?"

The older boy sighed. "You're fine. The creature that attacked you - it was apparently a goblin or something. There's a lot of them in the forest, so the doctors here - sorry, _healers_ \- are good at fixing up the wounds. But, they shoot poisoned arrows which stop wounds from healing. That's why it kept opening up even after Jou sorted you out. They flushed it all out so it'll heal properly now though. So don't worry. Everything's fine."

It was far from the most convincing tone of voice Takeru had ever heard, but then if Hikari was still out there, he couldn't say he blamed Taichi for being worried. Still. There was an awful lot missing from what he was being told.

"So, what's this about going somewhere?" he asked. "And…I can't stay here, Taichi. Patamon said you and Koushiro are working on stuff in a room we've been given?"

Taichi shook his head. "Koushiro's asleep," he said. "He overdid it, even after the healers told him he was run down. You've both been through a lot, Takeru. You're better off staying where you are until the rest of the doctors wake up."

"I'm _fine_."

"Yeah, that's what Koushiro said, right before he practically fell asleep on top of a pile of books." There was a smile on Taichi's face, but it didn't meet his eyes.

Takeru frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there."

Taichi sighed. "It can wait, okay? It's nothing you need to worry about right now. Just focus on getting better. We're going to be here for a few days at least, so there's no rush. I'll let you know if I hear anything about Yamato, but until the doctors wake up and give you the all-clear, you're staying in this bed. If we need to make a move sooner than planned, it's no good you being worn out from over-exerting yourself."

There was no mistaking the look on Taichi's face this time. He didn't plan on budging until he got the answer he wanted. Sometimes, Takeru mused, it was as though he had _two_ overprotective older brothers.

"Okay, _okay_ , I'll stay put," he said. "But I don't see what's stopping you from filling me in on what I've missed. Like you said. We're not going anywhere."

Patamon hopped over to the side of the bed where Taichi was sitting, and gave the older boy a stern look. To Takeru's surpise, Taichi sighed, and nodded.

"I guess there's no hiding it, really," he said heavily. "Right. It's…not great..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So, I originally intended for Takeru's section to be in the last chapter, before all that chaos with Jou happened. Honestly, I had even gotten as far as planning where Ken was going to end up when he got pulled over at midnight, and then suddenly he was going along with Jou. Minor plot derailment seems to be an ongoing feature of this story...
> 
> I also wanted to take a moment to explain why I had Ken be the only one to end up with an acute stress reaction over what's going on. I've read a few fics where Ken is this super fragile person because of what he's experienced*, and honestly...that's not how I interpret his character. He and all the others are pretty darn resilient, and they've faced a heck of a lot of dangerous situations and become relatively desensitised to Weird Stuff Happening.
> 
> BUT. Whereas all the others made their initial trip to the other world in the form of a dream/nightmare - which sorta softens the blow a little - Ken's first experience is through being teleported into the middle of a fight, without any warning at all. It's a far more physically traumatic event, and for a teenage boy who has been through some particularly traumatic situations to keep his cool through all of that...no. Does not compute. People don't work that way. Bodies need a moment to process, and if they don't get it, they tend to override the brain and start making their feelings more obvious.
> 
> I'm probably not saying anything people don't already know here, but stress responses, seizures, and panic attacks are something kinda close to my heart. (And my brain. Part of the reason this chapter took so long to write is that I had a run of keeling over this week.) I would hate for anyone to think I was trivialising them, or just trotting them out because it's an expected trope for a character. Fiction does demand a certain amount of additional emotional resilience from characters to ensure that the plot actually happens, but I think it's important to acknowledge some more realistic responses as well. And, you know, anyone is susceptible to a stress reaction from physical trauma.
> 
> *DISCLAIMER: I've also read plenty where he isn't, but, you know. You remember what bugs you more than what doesn't.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, it's been a while! The delay has been twofold, really. Partly due to the fact I am participating in the Digimon Adventure Bang, and have been focusing my efforts on that fic instead (there's a deadline), and partly because I ran into a couple of walls this chapter. For that reason, if some of the PoV transitions seem jarring, I apologise.
> 
> But, honestly, most of this chapter has been a lot of fun to write! It's come out a touch shorter than the last few, but I'd rather have it that way than try to pad it out. I am already aware that there's been a fair bit of talking in this story, and I don't want it to turn into a group of people stood around catching each other up. 
> 
> I have also drawn up a proper version of the [Hope's Fire Map](http://tottwritesfanfic.tumblr.com/post/143109044735/the-mirror-world-by-tottwriter-via-flickr)! This is basically the same map that Takeru found in the station a whooole bunch of chapters ago. I got bored of working off a quick scrawl on some dot matrix paper, and this was the result.
> 
> And of course, thank you once again to everyone who has left a comment or kudos. Your feedback is always huuugely appreciated!

  

_Monday, 3:15pm_

Iori grabbed the D-Terminal from his bag the moment his last lesson ended. He'd heard its muffled beep earlier, but there was no way he could pull out what honestly looked like a games console while he was meant to be paying attention and learning. In the year since the Diablomon incident, the rest of the world seemed to have more or less forgotten about the digimon attacks. Somehow he doubted that anyone would understand.

If he attracted odd looks for the uncharacteristic haste with which he packed his bag and raced out of the classroom once he _had_ read the message, he didn't notice. For Miyako to have announced that she was calling his family…things had to be serious. Now he just had to hope there would be no one in the computer room.

He bolted down the corridors, mentally apologising to his teachers for running in school. It couldn't be helped.

_What day does computer club meet?_ he thought, mind racing. Delays were something he needed to avoid at all costs, and who knew how long it would take him to find another access point he could use in private? His mind was awash with doomsday scenarios and peril. It was all too easy to imagine his friends in mortal danger, or the digital world in ruins. The sooner he was reunited with his partner and had a chance to catch up on the news, the better.

Iori reached the computer room and groaned. The timetable posted on the wall outside proclaimed that it was indeed club day. The silence from the other side suggested that he had arrived first, but he'd have to hurry in order to avoid anyone seeing-

"Iori?" came a voice from the other end of the corridor. "Did you want to join or something?"

He looked round in panic and spotted the club president, Ikeda Hinata. No doubt she'd followed him from their classroom. _Too late to explain anything now._

Sliding the door open, he raced inside and closed it again, then looked around for something to wedge the door shut with. He had seconds before his erratic behaviour brought his classmate to the room at a run. No time to waste.

Hitting the power button on the nearest computer, Iori grabbed a textbook from the cupboard in the corner. He darted back to the door and opened the book, shoving as many of the pages into the gap made for the door runner as he could. With any luck the paper would jam it long enough for the computer to load and for him to get through the portal. He could - and _would_ \- replace the book when this was all over.

"Iori! What's going on?" came Hinata's voice from the other side of the door.

Iori ducked out of sight and grabbed the door-handle, moments before Hinata tried to open it, rattling the door backwards and forward when it refused to slide open. The monitor was stuck on its loading screen - he had to buy more time.

"Hey, Iori!" Hinata cried. "What happened to the door? What's going on in there?"

Drat, drat, _drat_. He was going to have to write some serious apologies when this was all over.

The door rattled once more.

"Iori! Let me in! How did you manage to _lock_ this, anyway?"

Every instinct he possessed cried out for him to apologise, and try to explain somehow. But how exactly _could_ he? By telling his classmate there was a serious problem, and his presence was required urgently in another world? He wouldn't be believed on his words alone, and if anyone saw him open the gate, it would just cause _more_ problems.

_How do I explain the fact I'm about to disappear, then?_

The door rattled again. "That's it, Iori," Hinata said, sounding angry. "I'm fetching Mr. Fujiyama."

Footsteps, fading quickly away. Now was his chance.

Iori raced across the room and swung one of the windows open before returning to the computer. It had loaded, _finally_. He brought up the gate, tapped in the coordinates Miyako had provided in her message…and then hesitated, staring at the crumpled textbook.

No good. He couldn't just _leave_ like that, without saying anything. It went against everything he stood for. Gritting his teeth, he pulled an exercise book out of his bag and ripped a page free.

_~I'm sorry for jamming the door and causing this disruption. I will replace the textbook when I can. Hida Iori~_ he scrawled, wincing a little at his sloppy writing.

Grabbing his bag, he opened the gate and held up his D3. As explanations went it was terrible, but what other choice did he have?

* * *

_Monday, 1:25pm_

"Basically…It's just us, Hikari, and Mimi left," Taichi said, hoping that Takeru would accept the short version.

He didn't. Of course, Taichi had known that would be the case from the moment he'd decided to attempt an explanation. Takeru and his brother might have very different personalities, but they had about the same tolerance for being fobbed off - pretty much zero.

Yamato would have glowered until he was told what he wanted to know. Takeru managed to turn essentially the same frown into an expression of such honest concern it tugged at the heartstrings.

"What do you mean, Taichi? What happened to everyone else?"

"Well, that's the problem. We don't know," Taichi said, leaning forward in the chair to try and get more comfortable. How did anyone sit in these damn things?

"Don't know what? Where they wound up? They didn't come back?" Takeru's face was creased with worry.

Taichi sighed. He was regretting his decision to be honest already.

"Apparently Jou managed to open up a fear gate, and Ken and Wormmon got pulled along with him. That was a little less than an hour ago now, and we've not heard from either of them. So that means they're caught up in something like you were, or…well. We don't know."

Takeru said nothing, but the look on his face more than made up for the silence.

"Look, there's every reason to believe they're fine," Taichi said. "Apparently Jou was worried because some kind of monster attacked him, but when he went back he had his digivice - and so did Ken. So that means they have Ikkakkumon _and_ Stingmon, and both digimon are well-rested."

"Okay, but…what about Sora?"

Taichi flinched, and looked down at the crumpled sheets rather than meet Takeru's eyes.

"…We don't know," he said eventually.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Takeru asked.

When Taichi didn't immediately answer, naturally Takeru's response was to lean forward. Probably he meant to be more intimidating while demanding to know what had happened to Sora, but the only real result was that he halted mid-motion, yelping with obvious pain.

"Takeru, what part of 'rest' did you not get?" Taichi said, rolling his eyes. "It took them a solid hour to patch you up last…whenever. Do them a favour and try not to put that work to waste, okay?"

He got to his feet and folded his arms, trying to keep his face level. Takeru was a mess, even more so than Koushiro. What little of his skin that _wasn't_ covered by bandages was mottled with bruising, most of it still deep purple-blue. He knew from talking to the healers that the bruises extended all over the boy's back, and down his legs - falling through a roof had done a real number on him _and_ Koushiro. And that was leaving aside his previous injuries: in addition to the burns, and the scratches from their trek through the woods, the healers had informed him that Takeru had also sustained a blow to the head at some point in the last few days. It had taken him a few minutes to remember the cause of that. In the chaos, he had almost forgotten Takeru's short trip to wherever it was that Yamato had ended up.

He still didn't know how to react to the last bit of diagnostic information they had given him. Something about a shadow over Takeru's mind. In all honesty, it had freaked him the hell out when they'd first mentioned it - shadows, particularly in the wake of all the disappearing they had been doing of late, were not something he wanted attaching themselves to his friends. Apparently the doctors - no, the _healers_ , because doctors sure as hell didn't touch you and magically know what was wrong - had sensed his concerns though, and explained that it was a common enough phenomena. That it was more akin to a lingering fear, or an injury to the mind than a literal darkness.

All the more reason not to burden Takeru with worrying news. He'd been an idiot - he never should have let himself get started this topic in the first place. But now that he had, how in whatever world this was could he explain without making things _worse?_

* * *

_Monday, 9:13am_

Yamato had lost track of how long he'd sat beside Gabumon, letting guilt overwhelm him. It wasn't as though it mattered - there was no way of knowing how long they'd been trapped in this hellhole anyway.

Hunger pangs gnawed at his stomach and he swallowed heavily, wishing there had been more _water_ , at least. The fact that they'd refused to allow Gabumon any food infuriated him, too. Who the hell _were_ these people, and how long did they plan on keeping them locked up like this?

It would have been easy, in the wake of Cahir's 'interrogation', to let his underlying fears build into a panic. Now that he was with his partner, he could have clung tightly to Gabumon and thought about what might happen until he made his way back home. But how could he do that when Sora might be here too? He couldn't just abandon her. If there was even the slightest chance that she was trapped in another of these cells, he'd never forgive himself for making it home only to find that she wasn't there.

Besides. How long would he really have at home before he found himself right back where he'd started?

It wasn't fair. None of it was - he'd saved the goddamn _world_ , and now he was stuck in a cold, slightly damp prison with no idea where he was or how long he had left before…before…

_No_ , he thought vehemently. _I'm not going there._

Despite his slight light-headedness, he got to his feet and started pacing. The worst part about being trapped there wasn't even the lack of food or water - it was the boredom. The room was barren, with only a small, dim bulb in the ceiling to illuminate it. The only reason it wasn't dark and shadowy was that there was nothing in the cell to actually _cast_ a shadow.

The weight of the manacles pulled at his arms and hands, and rubbed wrists that were already red raw. He ached all over, too, from sleeping on a cold, hard floor. The walls closed in on him - he wanted to be out in the fresh air again, under the open sky. Even if he couldn't be home, it had to be better than being cooped up in this tiny cell.

Frustration and anger welled up inside of him and he let it, gladly. Anything was better than dwelling on might-have-beens and possible futures. In a fit of desperation he stalked over to the door and hammered the manacles against it, wincing as the blow jarred his wrists and arms. Maybe if he caught someone's attention they would give him some information about what was going on.

"Hey!" he cried, bashing the door again. The metal clanked and rattled, adding to the din. " _Hey!_ "

At the very least, he reasoned, when the guards came to shut him up he could ask for some water.

After three blows he had to stop and rest against the door. The room was spinning, and the floor seemed to waver in front of him. Sparks flashed across his eyes. No good. He couldn't keep this up on an empty-

" _Yamato?_ "

The voice was some way off and hoarse, but there was no mistaking it.

"Sora!" he yelled, pressing his face to the bars. His heart raced in his chest. She was here! " _Sora_!"

"Hoi! Pack it in!" a guard called loudly.

Yamato could see him marching down the corridor, and stepped back from the door as his captor reached it. He wouldn't have put it past the man to try and hit him if he presented a target.

"We don't need your racket, y'hear?" the guard said, glowering.

"Where is she?" Yamato snapped, his thirst momentarily forgotten. "What did you people do to her?"

The guard sighed.

"Look, don't make this difficult, okay? I got my orders, and they don't include gabbling with prisoners."

Yamato gritted his teeth and grabbed the bars of the little window in the door. "I don't care about your orders; I want to know where she is! You people did something and if you've harmed one hair on her head I swear-"

"Listen kid, word of advice. Don't go making threats unless you can make good on them. Now, I don't know what exactly you did to end up here-"

"I didn't _do_ anything!" Yamato said indignantly.

The guard rolled his eyes. "Sure. Never heard that one before. Look, night shift just started, okay? Neither of us is going anywhere, so you might as well just settle down."

Yamato took a breath to reply, but he could feel already the anger and energy draining out of him. _Everything_ had drained out of him - if it weren't for his concern for Sora, he was reasonably sure he would have collapsed to the ground and been unable to get back up. He let his head fall against the bars, and stared numbly at the metal cuffs around his wrists.

"I just want to know she's okay," he said. " _Surely_ you can tell me that?"

The guard huffed.

"Like I said, kid. I got my orders." There was a pause. "But…I'll see what I can do."

Yamato looked up in time to see the guard shake his head and walk away, muttering something about getting soft. It was agony to stand there in silence and watch that retreating back disappear out of sight.

Waiting was impossible, anyway. How could he just sit tight and be quiet? He forced himself to stay silent for a few more seconds while the guard walked off, biting his lip hard to keep himself from shouting. Finally he could take it no more.

"SORA!" he yelled, coughing. His throat was so dry he could almost choke.

"Yamato!" Her voice was faint enough that she had to be a bit of a distance away. He tried to remember the layout of the prison. How long were the corridors? How many cells were there?

He swallowed heavily a few times, trying to call some moisture to his throat.

"Sora! Are you okay?"

"I think…where _are_ we?"

There was a quaver to her voice that he didn't like. She was more or less shouting - anything she said ought to be clear and strong. What could have happened to her? The memory of Cahir's eyes haunted him; if that bastard had done anything to her…

Footsteps in the corridor halted his train of thought. He glanced in their direction to see the guard from before approaching. The man had a curious expression on his face.

"Well, ain't you the lucky one! Honoured guest, almost. Seems orders have changed since my last shift, and I'm to 'accommodate your needs'. Guess that means I get to play messenger."

Yamato took a breath, then exhaled, heavily. He didn't want to pass messages, or to have to shout down a corridor to hear Sora's voice. He wanted to _see_ her - to see that she was safe and unharmed. What assurances could anyone in this place give him to believe their word?

"I want to know what they did to her. What… what _Cahir_ did to her."

He spat the name out, and watched as the guard took a step back, looking him over carefully.

"That damned Fae, huh? Might've guessed it. Everyone gets the same haunted expression after an interview with _him_."

He stared blankly at the man. "Fae?"

"You think he's _human?_ One of us? Their Graces wouldn't put a human in charge of interrogation when they've one of their own to fill the role instead. And there's no human alive who can reach into your head like that."

Yamato shuddered. "Look, right now I don't care _what_ he is. I just want to know if Sora's okay. And…tell her I'm sorry. It's my fault she's here."

The guard nodded and walked off, heading further down the corridor. Yamato watched him go, feeling his stomach tie up in knots. It wasn't enough to just find out if she was okay. He wanted to know if the _others_ were okay too. What had happened to Takeru? Was he hurt? Safe? Had he and the others made it home, or learnt anything about whatever the hell was going on? He'd had nothing to do but sit and worry, and now he couldn't even ask, because there was no way he wanted to bellow that conversation down a corridor with an unknown amount of people listening in.

He couldn't have physically managed it _anyway_. Even before the guard walked out of sight he felt his knees buckle, and sank heavily to the ground, letting his head rest against the wood of the door. Gabumon ran over.

"Yamato, are you okay?" his partner asked.

"I'm fine, Gabumon."

He didn't look up. That would have meant meeting Gabumon's eyes, and acknowledging that the lie wasn't believed by _either_ of them.

* * *

_Monday, 3:29pm_

Armadimon was waiting for him not far from the gate, along with Daisuke and Lighdramon. Iori was reasonably certain he'd never seen such a serious expression on the older boy's face.

"What's happening?" he asked. "Miyako's email didn't really have much information."

Daisuke shook his head and held out a hand. "Honestly, it's a mess. Hop up and I'll explain as we go. We're heading over to Gennai's place."

" _Gennai's?_ "

Daisuke nodded as Iori handed his partner up first. Armadimon looked distinctly uncomfortable on his new perch. Iori scrambled up onto Lighdramon's back and clung to Daisuke as the digmon surged forward. He'd not had many opportunities to travel this way - a fact for which he was very thankful.

"What's going on then?" he said, closing his eyes tightly. Give him Sabmarmon any day.

"Well, it's just the three of us, for starters. Four at the minute, but that's because Mimi came back. Jou did too, but Gomamon got left behind and Jou was so worried he did a Takeru - and he dragged Ken with him. We haven't heard anything from either of them since. Did you get the message about Sora?"

Iori shook his head as much as he dared, then realised that as he was behind Daisuke that probably wouldn't mean anything. "What about Sora?"

"Right, forgot," Daisuke said. "Well, we didn't want to worry you or anything while you were at school, but Sora kinda vanished. No idea where she is, but I mean, we've seen two of those fear gates now, so our money is that it was one of those. Oh. And Hikari got back late last night, and she brought a fairy. He was pretty cool actually. Turns out the others all got name-checked in some prophecy and have to save the world without us."

" _What?!_ " Iori's head was spinning, and it wasn't just the motion sickness. How could they have let him just go to school while all this was happening without him? They hadn't even sent a memo!

"Yeah, well, we've got our own work to do here," Daisuke said, with relative calmness. "Look, there's Gennai's place just up ahead."

"I'll take your word for it," Iori muttered. "Just let me know when I can get down."

One or two entirely unpleasant minutes later, Lighdramon finally came to a halt beside a wide, open lake. Iori practically fell off in his haste to get onto to solid ground. How Daisuke managed to ride on the back of his partner without feeling sick was a mystery he hoped never to solve.

The ground was reassuringly stationary, but Iori headed over to the lake. With any luck, splashing some water on his face would help his nausea to go away faster. However, before he reached the lake's edge, the water in the lake parted to reveal a staircase. His jaw dropped.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Daisuke said. "I mean, I kinda always figured the others were exaggerating when they said about this place, but it is _every_ bit as good as their stories. You just wait til we get down there!"

It was a touch unnerving to be walking down a flight of stairs with water either side of him, but Iori was comforted by his partner's presence. After all, if anything went wrong he _did_ have Sabmarimon to fall back on. And it certainly couldn't be worse than having to ride Lighdramon again. At last they reached the end of the staircase, to find themselves in what looked like a traditional walled garden, with a small house in the centre. Iori gaped.

"Ah, Iori, it's good to see you," Gennai said from the door. "Please, come inside. I'm afraid I need to attend quite closely to Palmon for a little while. "

Iori frowned. "Mimi's here?"

"No, it's too dangerous for her to be in the digital world at the moment," Gennai replied, shaking his head. "If she disappeared here, it could make the distortions worse."

"Is someone actually going to explain what's going on?" Iori said, folding his arms. "So far everyone seems to think I need to be kept safe from finding out."

Daisuke sighed as they walked into the building. "It's not so much that, Iori. We all kinda overslept this morning, and then you were already at school, so there wasn't really a chance to get you a message you could do anything about. The worst of it didn't kick off until after lunch - which is when Miyako _did_ send that mail, but we knew you wouldn't get it until now."

"Well, now that I _am_ here, what happened? You mentioned Hikari - is she okay? And…she met a fairy?"

Daisuke nodded. "They just popped right out of thin air in the middle of the night. Apparently this world the others are stuck in is full of stuff like that."

Gennai cleared his throat. "And I have reason to believe the problems we are having in _this_ world are connected to whatever is happening there. Hikari's travelling companion has confirmed that digimon are somehow crossing over into his own world, and I believe it is through the distortions we've observed. Most troublingly, digimon have apparently been there for some time, which means that the distortions first appeared in the digital world far earlier than I had realised. If the document which Koushiro, Miyako and Ken have been working to translate is correct, I fear it is only a matter of time before this distortion spreads to Earth as well."

"So do we know how to fix the distortions?" Iori asked, although he had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.

Daisuke shook his head. "Not a clue. I was taking a look around one of them earlier, and I don't think it's safe to get too close. Some of the digimon nearby looked…dark. Like something was sucking the colour out of them. We got charged by a Monochromon, and it just wouldn't back down. It was like… well. Like it was being controlled by a dark ring, only there wasn't a ring anywhere. And after that, we ran into a weird… _thing_ , and when it was defeated it didn't seem to have any data at all. It just turned into this black smoke."

"It's the presence of that smoke which worries me," Gennai said. "I suspect that this time the distortion is coming from another world. If that's the case, there may not be a way to reverse it from here."

"If that's the case, what can we do?" Iori asked.

Daisuke's mouth set into a line. "We stay here and make sure there aren't enough of those things to spill over to the real world and do any harm. Miyako said she told you not to go back, yeah?"

Iori nodded. "You mean…that wasn't just 'until I know what's going on'?"

"Nope," Daisuke said. "The others are all trapped in the other world, and seeing as it's not the holidays, people will notice they're not at school. We don't know how long it's going to take to fix this, so the only thing their - _our_ \- parents can do is report everyone missing. And I mean, it would have been hard enough for us to be at school _anyway_ , knowing what was going on. But now things are kicking off here too, and we're down to just you, me, and Miyako who can do anything about it."

Iori leant against a wall, not sure what to say. Intentionally going missing and skipping school seemed like an extreme step - but equally, he could see that with only three of them here to fight, they couldn't allow their enemies to build up in number or they would be overwhelmed.

"How do we know this will help?" he said at last. "And what do we do if these creatures _do_ get into the real world?"

Gennai sighed. "Our last resort would be to call upon the other Chosen Children from around the world, as happened before. But they are unfamiliar with the digital world, and most have very little experience fighting with their partners. Against an unknown foe… It would _be_ a last resort. My hope is that you three will be able to learn more about the nature of these distortions and their origin, at which point I will be better able to judge whether we need to call upon them for assistance."

 


	32. Chapter 32

_Monday, 9:17am_

Yamato hadn’t answered. The minutes were ticking by, and Sora hadn’t had any reply to her last question. She wanted to know what was going on. Where they were. How they’d _got_ there. And she felt so weak that even standing by the door with her forehead pressed against the bars was almost more than she could manage, and she didn’t even know _why_.

“I’m sure he’s okay, Sora,” Piyomon said.

Sora swallowed heavily and tried to peer down the corridor outside. She badly wanted her partner to be right, but how could she be certain of anything? It all sounded like something out of a bad dream, too surreal to actually be possible. At any moment she expected to wake up in Yamato’s living room, having nodded off in front of the television. She _hated_ feeling so lost and disoriented.

Footsteps marked the approach of a man in uniform. Sora stepped back reflexively; she didn’t want to take chances on the stranger being friendly all the while she felt so helpless. The movement made her head spin, and she put out a hand to steady herself, pressing it against the wall and rubbing her forehead with the other.

“Hoi, you there.”

She looked up to see the man peering in at her. He spoke with a gruff voice, but seemed reasonable enough, and nodded when he caught her eye.

“I got a message from yer friend. Wants to know if you’re alright, and says ee’s sorry, coz’ apparently it’s his fault you’re ‘ere. Wouldn’t be too ‘ard on him, mind. Looks like ee’s been through the wringer a fair bit himself.”

Sora just stared at him for a moment, waiting for her brain to make sense of things. At last she gave up and shook her head.

“I don’t…Wait—you mean _Yamato?_ Where is he?” she snapped. “What’s going on? What did you do to him?”

The man took half a step back and grinned.

“Well. Yer a regular little firecracker, _I_ can see. Yer young man ain’t in that bad a shape. Little worse for wear, but nothing lasting. Cahir’s a bit of a bastard, but he’s not…well, there’s worse, ain’t there.”

“…who?”

The man sagged a little. “Ah. So _that’s_ how it is.”

He shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. “Man, they don’t pay me enough for this,” he muttered. “Look, yer in the custody of Their Graces. Dunno what you did—dunno what a little thing like you _could_ do—but it was enough that the Commander of the City Guard _himself_ wanted to question ya. Don’t quite recall that bit, I’m guessing?”

Sora turned to stare at Piyomon. There was enough overlap between the two stories that there had to be some truth to it—assuming she wasn’t still asleep after all. Even so…it was a lot to try and take in. Particularly as her head told her she must have nodded off while worrying about Yamato.

“I…I don’t understand,” she said, leaning against the wall. “If all this happened…why can’t I _remember?_ ”

“Piyomon patted her leg gently. “It’s okay So-”

The man yelped, and Sora looked up to see him back out of sight of the hatch in the door.

“Fates preserve us, the thing _talks?_ ” he cried.

Piyomon looked up at her, head tipped to one side. “Did I do something wrong, Sora?”

Sora shook her head, and knelt down beside her partner. She hugged Piyomon tightly as she looked up at the man and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

“I don’t know who you are, or what this place is,” she told him firmly. “And right now I don’t really care. But if you’ve got Yamato here somewhere, I want to know where he is, and I want to see him. _Now_. You have no right to keep us here like this.”

The man laughed, which wasn’t especially encouraging. But there didn’t seem to be any malice in it, and after a moment he leant on the door with a smile on his face.

“You got spirit, lass, I’ll grant yer that. I can see why your young man back there was so keen to stay on your right side. But look. I just work here. I’m just a guard. I got no more idea what you’re here for than you are, seemingly, and I ain’t got the authority to go letting you wander round merry as you please.”

He sighed. “Orders is orders, lass, and that’s all I can do, see? You got something you want to say to your young man?”

She stared at him. _Other world. I’m in the other world somehow. That’s the only explanation which makes any sense. Has Yamato been here the whole time? What will he want to know? What do_ I _know?_

“I…” It was hard to focus on the last few days, to keep track of everything that had happened. As much as her last clear memory was of sitting on the sofa watching the news, it was one bright moment in a sea of confusion.

“Tell him I’m not hurt, and the others are all fine,” she said at last. “That…that Takeru is safe, and he has Taichi and Koushiro with him.”

The names wouldn’t mean anything to the guard, but she was sure Yamato would be glad to know his brother wasn’t alone any more. And Takeru _was_ fine. Or…he had been the last she’d heard. No. Takeru was in good company. Taichi and Koushiro would keep him safe. It was the one thing she was sure of.

“Nothin’ else you want me to say?” the guard said. “I’ll be honest, he seemed pretty cut up about you being up here with him. Still, I reckon if you’ve already been questioned you’re past the worst of it. Nasty blighter, that Cahir, you ask me.”

Sora swallowed, feeling uncomfortable. “But who _is_ Cahir? I…I’m not from this place. I just woke up and I don’t know how I got here, so _please_ , tell me what’s going on.”

He sighed. “Well, like I say. I don’t rightly know how you got here either. I came on night shift, and here you were. But Cahir…he’s head of security. Got a cushy little number down there in his office. Comes of bein’ Fae. They look after their own, see, and they live so damn long the rest of us never get so much as a look in. Anyway, He’s good enough at ‘is job, at least. Scares the willies out of everyone as crosses him. He can reach right into a person’s head and pull out any answer he likes. I reckon that’s what happened to you, lass. Got his answers, he did, and then a bit of the old… _you_ know…so’s you wouldn’t remember what yer said.”

Sora stared from him to Piyomon, who was watching her with a worried expression. She hadn’t really expected that things could get _worse_ than waking up in a dungeon with no memory of how she’d got there, but apparently, she’d been wrong. The thought of someone poking around in her head made her skin crawl. Was _that_ why Yamato had looked such a mess?

 

* * *

 

_Monday, 1:35pm_

Mimi stood out on the balcony, watching the city below. The wind teased at her hair, and nagged at the scratch on her face, but it was cool at least. She’d gotten sick of the worried looks Mrs Yagami and Mrs Takaishi had been giving her, and hadn’t dared complain that the wound felt hot. Her back and arms burned, too, but that was probably from the antiseptic cream, and the way the bandages rubbed beneath her school blouse.

It seemed a little silly to be wearing her uniform when she _could_ have called her mother and gotten her to bring something more practical over, but honestly, it wasn’t worth the fuss. She was _fine_ —for now at least. It was Palmon she worried about, and what would happen when she had to go back. She really didn’t want to go alone, but how was it fair to drag her partner into all that again? If she were able to evolve it wouldn’t be so bad, but even if she managed to bring her digivice with her next time, what was to say Palmon would be in a fit enough state?

_No more buildings_ , she told herself, picking at a corner of the tape which held the bandage on her arm in place. _Even those soldiers weren’t as bad as the monsters._

The sound of a new voice inside caught her attention and she turned around to see an unfamiliar woman in the apartment. Miyako was stood by the laptop with Poromon hovering plainly in sight, which meant the newcomer had to be someone who knew…

“Where is my _son?_ ” the woman said, her voice shaking. “Ken said this was all just a…a pretence, so where _is he?_ ”

Miyako looked terrified, almost more than the woman—who _had_ to be Mrs Ichijouji—was. No one seemed to know what to say. They all just stood there, looking uncomfortable.

“He’s with Jou,” Mimi announced, walking back indoors. “And honestly, Jou is the oldest out of all of us, and he’s responsible, and sensible, and he always looks out for everyone else. He looked after Takeru when they were coming back to Odaiba, and he stuck with me when we all went in different directions in the digital world, and…and he’s training to be a doctor too, so really and truly, I’m sure that Ken’s perfectly safe. It’s just…we’re not exactly sure _where_ that perfectly safe place is right now.”

There was a short, decidedly uncomfortable silence.

“He… _left?_ ” Mrs Ichijouji said, raising a hand to cover her mouth.

“Oh, no, it was nothing like that!” Miyako said. “He-”

“It was an accident,” Mrs Takaishi said. “I saw the whole thing myself. Here, come and sit down, and we’ll explain everything.”

Mimi bit her lip as everyone fussed around Ken’s mother. Had she said the wrong thing? But, really, the truth had to come out at _some_ point, and Ken really _was_ bound to be fine all the while he was with Jou. Especially since they both had their partners with them, and Jou had been in the mountains, hadn’t he? If they hadn’t come back already, they obviously couldn’t have been caught in a landslide or anything like that. It was just a matter of waiting for them to send a message to say that all was well.

In the meantime, what could she do? The growl of her stomach answered that question. Mrs Yagami had walked over to the kitchen area - the least she could do was offer to help. It might even take her mind off the pain of her injuries.

_I hope Jou comes back soon,_ she thought. _I never realised how much we all rely on him to do his doctor thing for everyone._

Mrs Yagami smiled sadly at her as she approached.

“It was sweet of you to try and reassure Mrs Ichijouji,” she said quietly. “But you have to understand, this isn’t easy for her at all. It isn’t the first time Ken has disappeared without a trace.”

“Yes, but this time he’s with _Jou_ ,” Mimi pointed out. “Jou might not look it, always, but he’s perfectly capable of defending himself and his friends, believe me. In the digital world-”

Mrs Yagami sighed. “I know you’ve seen things we haven’t. And, Mimi, I know perfectly well that you can all take care of yourselves, too. But…how Mrs Ichijouji feels right now—how, deep down, we _all_ feel? It’s not about facts and reason. Every parent worries about their children, even when we _don’t_ have to sit back and watch them do very dangerous things, and Mrs Ichijouji has more reason than most to be scared for her son.”

Mimi wasn’t sure what to say to that. She _wanted_ to explain that that was why she’d started off by saying that Ken wasn’t alone—that he was being looked after—but there was something about the expression on Mrs Yagami’s face which stopped her.

A bleeping sound from the laptop drew her attention. Miyako squeaked as she raced over, with Poromon fluttering near her head. She turned to Mimi, grinning.

“Palmon’s okay!” she cried, clasping her hands together. “Daisuke just messaged to say Gennai told him that she’s worn out and sore, and it’s gonna be a while before she’ll be up to evolving, but she’s in a stable enough condition. He _also_ said he can probably bring her back once he’s picked Iori up. I’m not sure how soon he’ll get my message and head over there.”

Mimi sank back against the counter. It was like a weight had lifted, one which she’d carried since Palmon had fallen to the strike of one of those… _creatures_.

“Are you sure that’s going to be alright?” she asked. “Isn’t she safer in the digital world?”

Miyako frowned. “I can check, but Daisuke’s message was pretty relaxed. Maybe Gennai thinks you’re better off being together?”

“Miyako, we _are_ better with our partners!” Poromon said. “When you went to Kyoto without me that time, I felt really tired and weak. I was _much_ better after Ken and Stingmon found you.”

Mimi pursed her lips. “That must mean he wants me to take Palmon back to the other world with me then,” she said. “But how will we manage if Palmon is too tired to walk? I could carry her, but then I wouldn’t have my hands free.”

Miyako stared at her, looking confused.

“You…you’re okay with that?” she asked.

“Well I have to be, don’t I?” Mimi replied, sighing. “I’m going to end up back there tonight whether I want to or not, and Gennai said Palmon is better off with me.”

She could feel the shudder in the base of her spine, and shook her head to dispel it before continuing: “I certainly don’t plan on going in any more houses, so I won’t attract those… _things_ , and maybe if I don’t surprise those soldiers so much they won’t attack straight away. After all, Alwyn seemed to think most people there have heard of us Chosen Children. I’m sure they’ll listen if I explain who I am. And _that_ means I really don’t know how long it will take me to get back here. I’ll be stuck just like everyone else. So, really, however much I want her to be safe, I have to take Palmon with me.”

Miyako looked worried. “Mimi…”

“We…we always managed before,” she said, determined to think positively. After all, that’s what all the others were doing, wasn’t it? “And I still think that city has to be the same one Yamato found. Taichi didn’t end up all that far from Takeru and Hikari, so why shouldn’t the place I appeared be close to where Yamato is? If I can do something to help I’m not going to just _abandon_ him, even if I have to carry Palmon.”

“I have an idea which might help there,” Mrs Yagami said, looking thoughtful. “You know, I think I still have my old onbuhimo somewhere. I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to carry Palmon for long on your back given your injuries, but if she really can’t walk it might be worth a _try_.”

Mimi felt her spirits lifting. It was all she could do not to hug Taichi and Hikari’s mother there and then. If it hadn’t been for the way the bandages across her arms and back tugged when she made sudden movements, she _would_ have.

“Really? Are you sure you don’t mind me using that? I promise I’ll look after it as best I can, but it might get ruined. If you were keeping it for Hikari to use…”

Mrs Yagami shook her head. “I understand, Mimi. Right now, this is more important.”

She looked past Mimi to the other two women sat on the sofa, and frowned. “What about _your_ parents, Mimi? In everything that’s happened, I don’t think we’ve called them yet.”

Mimi sighed, and hung her head. “I suppose I really should, if I’m going to officially disappear. I don’t think my mother will really understand though. They’ve never liked me being a Chosen Child.”

 

* * *

 

_Monday, 1:46pm_

Jou came round slowly, roused from odd half-dreams about forests and dungeons by a faint, persistent buzzing. What was it? It sounded like a cross between an insect and the noise made by some of the fluorescent strip lights at the clinic where his father worked. More distantly, he thought he could hear unfamiliar voices talking.

Someone was prodding his arm.

“Hey, Jou. Jou! Hey! Hey, wake up!”

He knew _that_ voice at least.

“Gomamon?”

“Course it’s me! Are you finished sleeping yet? They’re all done fixing up your foot.”

He groaned.

“Well, I suppose I am now,” He sat up, wincing at the deep, throbbing ache in his ankle. The world was all fuzzy. “Wait…where are my glasses?”

“Oh…um…they got a little bit broken, Jou. But don’t worry! I took good care of them while those people carried us down here. Here they are!”

Gomamon clambered across the bed to a cabinet, and grabbed a blur which turned out to be a rather battered pair of glasses. Examining them, Jou sighed. The central part of the frame was bent, and one of the arms hung awkwardly by a sliver of hinge. Still, despite several scratches, the lenses at least appeared to be in one piece. All in all, he supposed he should be grateful for that much after his tumble on the mountainside.

Shaking his head, he cleaned the lenses as best he could and straightened out the frame. The loose arm came off as he worked. It figured. He tucked it in a pocket and put what remained of them on, pushing them slightly more firmly down across his nose than he normally would. With any luck, so long as he was careful they would stay put. And there was always a chance he could ask their rescuers for help in repairing them.

Glasses more-or-less in place, he took a better look around the room he found himself in.

That it was a hospital ward he was sure of, although the equipment all looked very old-fashioned. Still, the arrangement of beds and screens was instantly recognisable, even if the odd splint around his ankle wasn’t. It consisted of nothing more than several thin metal rods, held in place by layers of gauze bandage.

“Gomamon,” he said uncertainly. “Where _exactly_ are we right now? And—wait, where’s Ken? I didn’t imagine him being here, did I?”

Gomamon shook his head emphatically, and pointed.

“That’s why you needed to wake up! We’re in some sort of city, but it’s all underground, and a bunch of important people want to talk to you. They’re all outside chatting to Ken and Wormmon right now, but I think Ken’s getting a little worried, because he messaged everyone to say we’re okay and they didn’t reply yet, and I’m pretty sure he’s not feeling so good either, because _Wormmon_ said-”

“Okay, I get the point. Gomamon, can you let them know I’m awake? I don’t see any crutches or anything which will help me walk on this ankle, so I’m stuck here for the moment, and I don’t want to take chances all the while it’s in that…I’m going to _assume_ it’s a splint. I really hope the doctors here know what they’re doing.”

“Sure thing, Jou!”

Gomamon hopped down, and bounded out of sight. He heard his partner’s voice, excitedly explaining that he was awake, and took a quick moment to try and tidy himself up a little.

It wasn’t easy. His trousers were filthy, and one leg of them had been bunched up close to the knee in order to make space for the splint. The shirt which had been white when he’d put it on was covered in dust and dirt and a few flecks of what he thought was probably blood.

Still, he could and did straighten them before the gathering of apparently important people appeared from somewhere beyond one of the screens by his bed.

The majority of them were a good foot shorter than Ken, who stood at the back of the group holding Wormmon in his arms. They were stocky, and dressed in clothes which looked old and worn, but surprisingly elegant considering the no-nonsense look of their faces. Without a shadow of a doubt, Jou was sure they had to be dwarves. There was also a taller man, built like an ox, and a woman, thin and elegant, who stared at him haughtily.

“So,” said one of the dwarves, an elderly man with a wispy grey beard, and a large gold chain around his neck. “I’m told you’re a Chosen Child too, eh? Time of Merging, is it? Well, it about figures. Sure as anything we can’t go on as we have been. Dark days, they are. Very dark. Still, I welcome you to the Mountain Fastness, on behalf of myself, naturally, as spokesperson for the Chief, and for the rest of this rabble of advisors.” He gestured to the array of people.

Another, rather surly-looking dwarf wearing a dark brown robe, nodded. “Your friend has informed us that the remainder of the nine are scattered somewhat, and that you’re not really sure what’s going on. Well, I can’t say as any of us _really_  understand this business, deep down. We never had much truck with the Fates in the old days, and, well. Now their stuff and nonsense turns out to be coming true, and being blunt, we’ve got too much on our plates keeping this city safe to fuss about looking for some dusty old tome with a prophecy scribbled on it.”

The ox-like man sighed. “You catch us at our worst, Chosen,” he said. “Time was, these halls were filled with scholars as well. But it’s a hard life, here in the mountains, and with our belts tightening year on year, we can ill-afford to spend our time poring over books. There are mouths to feed, and ever more foes at our gates. Truly, we are glad to see even _two_ Chosen. And, by thunder, you have already proven your mettle. Two Olitiau downed by your allies—sorry, _partners_ was it?—and one more driven off, by the Chosen of Kindness’ account. It is a good start. They’ve been gathering in these parts of late.”

“O-oli- _what?_ ” Jou said, trying to make sense of everything. After hearing about the reception first Hikari, and then Taichi and the others had had, he hadn’t expected to be believed so readily.

“The giant bat things,” Gomamon said.

“Aye. Olitiau they are, and a blight on these foothills. They used to keep to themselves, mostly, but in recent years they’ve gotten bold. Same as everything else, seemingly.” The speaker was another of the dwarves, who shook his head sadly.

Jou nodded, and looked helplessly at Ken a moment before clearing his throat.

“Well, uh, obviously we will do what we can, and I am grateful for your assistance in fetching us down here…”

The woman shook her head. “You have no notion of your purpose in this land. You bring partners who fight, and we must not turn away allies if the time of Merging is indeed upon us, but what, pray, can two—or even _nine_ —children do against a growing corruption which blights the lesser folks, and draws dangerous creatures from another realm to join the forces we must oppose?”

Ken cleared his throat. “I think I might know the answer to that,” he said, stepping back as everyone turned to stare at him. “I…I’ve been helping to translate what looks like a prophecy from the _digital_ world, and it mentions something about fixing an imbalance. We know that digimon have been ending up here through distortions, so I would guess that our task is to get rid of them somehow. And if this corruption affecting some of the creatures here comes from that, then getting rid of it should fix the problems here, too.”

“A noble cause, but how exactly can nine children do something like that?” the ox-like man said. “Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re all glad to see you, but we’d sooner see an end to this corruption, and if you don’t know how…”

“The elders of the Forest want some of the others to go to a…a council of some sort,” Jou said, reaching up to straighten his glasses and remembering belatedly that they were broken. He fumbled to keep them on his face. “They seemed to think _they_ would have all the answers.”

The dwarf with the gold chain stroked his beard. “That’d be the Grand Council, most likely. Course, we haven’t heard from them in years. But then, we does tend to keep ourselves to ourselves in the mountains. No time for all that fuss and ceremony the Fae and the fairies get themselves worked up over. No offence, Órlaith.”

The woman frowned. “ _Indeed_. Even so, how is it that you have word from the Forest City? It is a journey of two days either way to send word from here.”

“We…well, at least, _most_ of the others have devices which allow us to communicate,” Jou said. “One of our friends—another Chosen Child—sent us messages to say that’s where they were, and that the Elders wanted them to visit a Grand Council because they should have answers.”

“I tried sending a message after we got here,” Ken said. “But I haven’t had a reply yet. I’m not sure what’s causing the delay. It could be that something has happened to stop Miyako replying—we were planning to go missing soon, after all.”

Jou shook his head. “It could be that she hasn’t received it yet,” he said. “Takeru’s messages were delayed at one point. We never did work out why.”

“Well, nowt we can do about it right now,” the dwarf in the brown robe said. “Alls any of us can do is take note of the goings-on of the world. The Elders down in the Forest mean to _act_ , and, if they’re sending Chosen Children north, I say we do the same. There’s no call for us to be holding up two Chosen Children when the Grand Council might be setting ‘em on some sort of path.”

He turned to Jou. “Now, that’s not to say as we’ll be turfing you out at dawn, you being injured and all. But there’s no denying that we’re poor set for answers, and the Grand Council—come what may—are probably more equipped for dealing with prophecies. And when you _do_ go north, we’ll see as you go in good company, hear? I’ll not have it said we didn’t do our part.”

The others all agreed, chiming in with remarks like “Hear, hear!” and “That’s sure enough.”

Jou just looked over their heads at Ken, whose expression suggested he felt as lost by the sudden turn of events as Jou did. Everything seemed to be happening with bewildering speed. What kind of place had they _landed_ in?

 

* * *

 

_Monday, 4:30pm_

Hikari could tell that they were getting closer to the city. It wasn’t so much that she recognised her surroundings—all the passageways looked very much alike, and she had only travelled through them once before, consciously, at least. But the further they walked, the better the mood of her travelling companions seemed to get.

It was infectious. Although Hikari wasn’t returning home, as they were, she knew that Tai and Tailmon and the others awaited her at the end of their journey, and that was certainly a reunion she was looking forward to.

Tentomon flew between her and Alwyn—even he seemed to have realised he was getting close to Koushiro, because his antennae were more alert, and he had lost the worried, drooping sort of look which he’d had ever since arriving in the real world just too late to be with his partner.

“Not long now,” Alwyn said. “Soon we shall be back within the gates—to a heroes’ welcome, most likely.”

“Well, whatever passes for one, these days,” quipped one of the scouts. “Like as not, most of the welcoming party are asleep!”

The tall scout Hikari recognised as Aldith laughed, and clouted the speaker over the head with the palm of her hand.

“The hour is late, Dáire,” she said, grinning down at him. “Did thee expect the Elders to wait up, and shake thee by the hand for a job well done?”

“Late?” cried one of the others, a short man with goat-like, cloven hooves for feet. “Early’s more the like! We passed _late_ a few miles back.”

Alwyn smiled at Hikari as the rest of the scouts continued to laugh and joke among themselves.

“A safe return can lift even the most hardened spirits,” he said. “Truly, I shall be glad to get back to my home, and to Nonie.” He sighed, losing the cheer in his expression. “I only wish that she were older. My heart tells me I will join you on your travels north, but that is no trek for a child. I fear she will take the separation poorly.”

Hikari frowned. “The little girl who was with you in the prison? You haven’t really talked about her. Is she…your sister?”

“My niece. And my ward, too, for her parents walk another plane.”

“Oh. I…I’m sorry for your loss,” Hikari said.

Alwyn shook his head. “These times are hard on all of us. And I am sure we will meet again, when my path joins theirs. But, enough of such sorrowful talk! We shall reach the gates within the hour. For now, let us put aside our worries. Soon we shall be reunited with our loved ones, and retire to soft beds.”

He pointed to a marker on the wall of the passage. “A mile more, only, and we shall see our kin.”

“I hope Koushiro is looking after himself,” Tentomon said.

Hikari smiled. “If he isn’t, there’s plenty of people to make him,” she said. She shook the bag of batteries. “And I’m sure he’ll be happy when he sees that we’ve got _these_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, it's finally here! Honestly, it's taken me a while to get back into the flow of Hope's Fire. Four months away is enough to make anyone rusty, and I really didn't want to come back and end up with a massive tone shift because angst from Trinacriform was creeping in. I actually made myself read the whole thing before I started, and check a bunch of planning notes so that (with any luck!) there shouldn't be a noticeable "join". 
> 
> I also wanted to make sure this chapter didn't come up short, which turned out to be tricky because, of course, there's not so much actual _action_ at the moment. Still, we're getting close now. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming chapters, not least because the whole midday/midnight spikes will stop being a thing. 
> 
> Incidentally, with increasing amounts of action happening in the other world, I do hope it's not confusing that I'm marking the time of day as it is on Earth. I've done it that way because that's how their digivices/phones/D-Terminals will show it, but obviously night and day are reversed in the other world, so with most of the chosen children there, I'm a tad worried it's confusing? At the moment half of them are effectively jetlagged as all hell, so they're running on Earth time anyway, but if it's helpful I can try and find a way to distinguish between the two. Let me know what you think!


	33. Chapter 33

_Monday, 4:53pm (4:53am local time)_

The gate was a rather unassuming obstacle, really, and yet when they reached it Hikari felt her heart soar. Somewhere on the other side of it were her brother and partner, and Takeru, and Koushiro. Behind an impenetrable barrier crafted of a mixture of wood and metal; iron rods tinged with rust.

There wasn’t any visible method of opening it. There was no handle, no latch. No bell to ring or button to press. She couldn’t see anything like a security camera or motion detector—and it wasn’t as though anyone in this world would be likely to have any clue what those things were, anyway. So how did it work? When they’d left, a group who remained behind had waved them out of sight.

“Euthalia, do your thing,” the squad commander said.

“I thought you would never ask,” replied a tall, slender woman with leaves growing through her hair. She cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck and shoulders, setting off a series of crackles which made Hikari wince. Then she clasped her hands together and took a few deep breaths, standing with her feet shoulder-width apart and her head bowed.

Hikari just had time to wonder what was going on when the door rattled. She turned to stare at it, as a wooden crossbeam shivered and pulled loose of the door, and several of the wooden ceiling braces turned out to be rather more alive than she had believed them to be. The ends of them were thinner and root-like, and reached down to coil around iron loops in the base of the door, lifting it upward towards them.

Beyond the door was another corridor, this one lit with old-fashioned, slightly dim electric bulbs. Hikari walked under the gate, turning back to stare at Euthalia with wide eyes.

“How did she…” she whispered to Alwyn, as Euthalia walked forward, seemingly in a trance, and stood in a small corner of the corridor where the floor was the same well-trodden earth as the passage outside, rather than the stone slabs the rest of it was paved with. The door swung gently back into place.

Alwyn grinned at her. “You’ve never met a wood-nymph before?” he said, with obvious amusement. “You hail from a world of bright lights, and boxes which display images of people around the world, have travelled through a world made from the substance which powers your com-pu-ters, and _this_ surprises you?”

Hikari laughed. “A little,” she said. “Although I suppose I probably _should_ have run out of things to be surprised at by now.”

“I am sure Koushiro has been making a close study of this place,” Tentomon added.

“Taichi’s last message said he’d gone to sleep again,” Hikari reminded him. “I don’t think he’s meant to be working just yet.”

The corridor the squad had entered wasn’t long—a couple of hundred metres at most—and ended with a second, rather more imposing set of metal doors. They were inlaid with intricate patterns carved on wooden beams, with gold, silver, and jewels in a rainbow’s worth of colours and more, and swung open by themselves as the group approached.

Several of the squad members clapped each other on the shoulder as they walked through, already discussing food and bed and loved ones. There were guards on the far side of the gate to welcome them, and one approached, bowing. Hikari half turned as the grating of metal on stone marked the gates closing behind her, sealing off the outside world. What had Alwyn said—there was a whole city down here, wasn’t there?

“Well met, Chosen of Light,” the guard said as she turned back to face him. He looked human; a man in his late thirties, perhaps, and spared Tentomon only the briefest wary glance as he spoke. “I have been tasked with escorting you to your quarters.”

Hikari nodded; she’d gathered from Taichi’s messages about Koushiro overdoing it that they’d been given somewhere to stay.

“Thank you,” she said, then turned to the rest of the squad who had accompanied her. “And thank you for keeping me safe,” she said. “I know you’ve all put yourselves in danger on my account.”

The shrugged off her thanks, shaking their heads and waving at her before heading off down a corridor, calling out wishes to meet again. Alwyn stayed by her side, and shook his head.

“Most likely they will,” he said. “The city is not that large a place, after all, and you must surely remain while your fellow Chosen are recovering.”

“What about you?” Hikari said to him, conscious of the guard waiting for her.

“I will stay with you for now,” Alwyn replied. “Nonie will yet be asleep—I hope—and I would very much like to see this reunion through.”

The guard led them down a corridor which spiralled further into the ground, down and down until Hikari started to feel dizzy. At last it levelled out, and they were led down a passage with a polished stone floor, and wooden panels along the walls. The lights still looked old-fashioned, but were in actual fixtures, as opposed to being bare bulbs.

“Your quarters, Chosen of Light,” the guard said, as they reached a door with an odd, swirling pattern marked on the door. “There are bells within for you to ring should you require anything, although the city proper does not awaken until six bells of the morning, so some amenities may be unavailable until then.”

Hikari really wasn’t sure what the man meant by “bells”, but she nodded anyway. “Do you know where my…where the other Chosen are?”

“I can tell you that their rooms are close to your own. This whole hallway has been reserved for your use. But as I have been stationed by the gate, I’m afraid I don’t know whether they have bedded down for the night or wandered. I was told the pattern of days and night are reversed in your world, so there may be some confusion there? Although, I believe the Chosen of Hope had not yet been cleared to leave the healers’ quarters. It is unlikely they would wish to move him until morning.”

He bowed, and opened the door before Hikari could reach the handle. It was a little unnerving to have gone from being a prisoner to an apparently honoured guest in less than a day, but she did her best to smile as he gestured for her to enter. She looked over at Tentomon as she walked into the room. It had to be hard for him to be so close to his partner and still not know where he was, but selfish though it might be, she wanted to know where Tailmon was first. And after all, these were _her_ rooms so perhaps Tailmon might be—

“Wow,” she said flatly, looking around. The lack of any immediate response told her that Tailmon wasn’t there, but for a moment she was too startled to mind. The room was easily the size of her apartment’s living area. There were brightly coloured tapestries hanging from three of the walls, with a large fireplace set into the only bare one. A huge four-poster bed was set against the wall opposite the fire.

“The Elders will reconvene at nine bells of the morning,” the guard said. “Someone will come to fetch you around then.” He bowed once more, and left, leaving the door ajar.

Hikari set her bags down on a desk, and turned to stare at Alwyn.

“They’re letting me sleep in _here?_ ”

Alwyn smiled. “Now you look like Nonie. And, you are a Chosen Child. These are the rooms set aside for important visitors to the Forest City. The Elders will spare you no honour while you are here, so I’d advise you to enjoy it while you can. The road north will have none of these luxuries.”

She stared around the room one more time. It looked like a five star hotel—albeit a rather old-fashioned one. Sighing, she shook her head.

“Well. Right now I want to know where everyone else is,” she said, fishing in her pocket for her D3. She pulled it out and smiled when she saw several dots on the screen. It hadn’t shown any signals at all when she’d checked it earlier on during their march back to the city. “We’re close enough that the tracker is working, at least.”

Tentomon flew over immediately. “Is Koushiro nearby?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “Well it certainly seems as though he is. Look…and Taichi must be with Takeru.”

They followed her lead out of the room, and down the corridor to a room a couple of doors from her own. The door was marked with a symbol identical to the one from before.

“This must be his room. But…Taichi said he was asleep. I’m not sure we’re meant to disturb him,” she said, then faltered at the wilted look which came over Tentomon. “You know, I suppose there’s no harm in knocking. Just quietly, of course.”

Part of her badly wanted to offload Tentomon, much as she felt guilty for thinking it. But at least once he was back with Koushiro she’d be able to focus on finding everyone else. It wasn’t so much that Tentomon was bad company under normal circumstances, but things could hardly be said to be normal. Still, she had to bite back a smile at the sight of Tentomon tapping gently on the wood, as though if he wasn’t careful it would explode.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then the sound of muffled cursing.

“Please, come in,” called a familiar voice. “Unfortunately I can’t seem to reach the door at the moment.”

“Koushiro!” Tentomon cried, and grabbed the handle, opening the door so fast that Hikari was worried for a moment that he was going to pull it off.

The door swung open to reveal a room every bit as extravagant as her own, with the exception that the desk was piled high with books and sheets of paper. Koushiro sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in an odd, long shirt. He yelped in pain as Tentomon flew over and collided with him.

“Koushiro, what happened to you?”

“It’s…I’m fine, Tentomon, honestly,” Koushiro said, wincing as his partner landed on the floor beside him and he levered himself upright once more and sighed. “No lasting damage.”

Hikari leant on the doorway. It was good to see the pair together again, but what she wanted was her _own_ reunion. She cleared her throat.

“Um, Koushiro, do you know where the others are?” she asked.

Koushiro looked up, then rubbed the side of his head with his right hand. “Hikari? Oh, of course…my apologies: I got caught up there for a moment. Somehow I forgot that Tentomon could only get here with you. I’m glad you made it here safely.”

Hikari winced, but managed a weak smile. She _really_ didn’t want to think about the cave with the grootslang any more if she could help it. Especially not while she was underground.

Koushiro sighed. “I’m not sure where Taichi will have got to by now, but I do know that someone brought food to his room for the digimon. It’s to the left of this one. As far as I know, Takeru and Patamon are still in the hospital area where they treated our injuries. If Taichi isn’t in his room it’s possible he went to visit him.”

She nodded, and backed out of the doorway. Tailmon might be next door?

“I can lead you to the healers quarters if you like,” Alwyn said, but Hikari barely heard him. Taichi’s door, like Koushiro’s and her own, had a strange symbol marking it, but beyond that there was nothing to set it apart. She half expected to knock and find that Koushiro had made a mistake and sent her to the wrong room.

No, she thought, and raised her hand. The longer she stood there, the more right it felt. She rapped lightly on the wood, and felt her heart leap as it opened to reveal a small white figure.

“Hikari!” Tailmon cried.

She dropped to her knees and hugged her partner. It might only have been a day or two that they’d been apart, but after everything she’d been through, it felt far longer.

“I missed you, Tailmon,” she whispered.

Tailmon clung almost as tightly back. “I missed you too. And I am glad you’re safe. Did you _really_ have to put yourself in danger like that again?”

Hikari found herself laughing, although she wasn’t entirely sure why. She let go and sat back on her ankles. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “But I won’t be doing it again, I promise.”

“Too right you won’t,” Tailmon said. “I’m not letting you out of my sight again until all this is over, you hear?”

“Gladly,” Hikari said. “Now, can we go and find my brother?”

 

* * *

 

Despite the plentiful amount of sleep he’d gotten, Takeru found himself nodding off. It was _tiring_ being stuck in a hospital bed, especially since Taichi had fallen asleep in the chair beside him. How he’d managed that given the complaints he’d made about its lack of comfort, Takeru wasn’t sure. But it probably had something to do with the fact that he seemed to have gotten far less sleep than any of them. After all, it was…

 _What time_ is _it?_ Takeru thought. _Surely someone else has to wake up at some point and let me out of here?_ Perhaps if he were allowed to get up he’d stop feeling so worn out from doing nothing.

Even the prospect of wearing whatever mismatch of weird clothes the people here could possibly find for him was starting to seem less of a compromise for being allowed to get out of the hospital ward and walk around. He wanted to know where he was. What the city was like. What the _people_ were like. After all, if they were going to be stuck in the city until Koushiro’s wrist healed, he might as well find something to do. Something more entertaining than trying to get Taichi to tell him what was actually going on. Being treated as though he was about to break had gotten old within just a few sentences.

“Patamon, could you check the time?” he asked, nodding over at his D-Terminal. Taichi had ‘helpfully’ placed it out of his reach.

Not that he could have checked it by himself anyway. Until someone came along and removed the bandages over his fingers, his hands were more or less useless. And over the last few hours he had decided that if there was one thing worse than being treated as though he couldn’t handle things, it was _being_ —quite literally, in fact—unable to handle things.

His partner flew over to the cabinet where his belongings had been placed, and nudged a button on the D-Terminal. “The clock thingy says it’s five-dot-dot-fifteen-P-M.”

Takeru frowned with concentration briefly then stopped, smoothing his features as best he could. Frowning only tugged on the gauze taped to his face. “So that’s…if day and night are back to front, then it can’t be _that_ long until it’s properly morning here, right? Which means those doctors will wake up and let me out of here.”

“Right!” Patamon said cheerfully, then winced as Taichi stirred beside them. They both watched as he settled back into the chair once more.

“It’s good that Taichi’s sleeping,” Patamon said quietly. “I think he’s been really worried about everyone. And Agumon told me that he got hurt on that island where they appeared, too.”

Takeru rolled his eyes. “Figures he never told me _that_. At least if we’re waiting here for Koushiro we’ll all have time to get back into shape. I can’t believe he tried to—did you hear that?”

He leant forward and sat up, groaning at the stiffness in his back. It had been muffled at first, but even as Patamon asked him what he meant, the unmistakable sound of voices filtered into the room.

“…here on the right,” said a woman. Takeru recognised the voice as belonging to one of the staff in the hospital area that Taichi had spoken to, during the long while he’d kept Takeru company. “I do hope that in future, normal visiting hours will be respected.”

“Of course,” a young male voice replied. “Although I’m sure you understand why the Elders have asked that you make an exception in this case.”

“Hmph,” the nurse said. “I just ask that you not tax him overmuch until the healers are able to make an assessment. Chosen or not, while he is in my care he is a _patient_ first and foremost.”

The woman appeared in the doorway, tall and willowy—and not just in terms of her physique. There was a definite element of tree-ishness about her appearance, too. There was no mistaking who she had brought with her though.

“Hikari!” Takeru cried.

Taichi flinched in the chair beside him, but was still rubbing his eyes groggily as Hikari replied.

“Takeru? What _happened?_ Taichi said you were worn out, but…”

“Oh. Um…” Takeru found himself half-consciously trying to pull the bedsheet higher up, and winced as the bandages on his hands rubbed at his burns. “It’s—I’m fine. Really.”

“Hikari!” Taichi cried, waking up at last.

Takeru sighed with relief as Taichi launched himself out of the chair, ran across the room, and swept Hikari into a hug which lifted her clear off the ground. At least the attention was no longer on himself. He’d more or less managed to forget the fact that most of his clothes had been cut into pieces until Hikari had gaped at him in surprise.

Hikari laughed.

“Put me down Taichi!” she cried. “I didn’t come all this way to get crushed by-”

Taichi set her on the ground and stepped back.

“What _did_ you go all that way for?” he asked. Takeru could picture the concerned frown even though Taichi had his back to him. “Do you have _any_ idea how dangerous what you did was? You could have been killed!”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Hikari said. “There was no way for me to contact anyone, and I had to pass on what the Elders told me somehow. I didn’t know you were going to show up here, especially not as quickly as you did.”

Taichi sighed. “I know. Just…don’t scare me like that again, okay? When we got here and they said you’d already left…”

“He looked like he was going to hit someone,” Tailmon remarked. “Which probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, given all the spears pointing at us at the time.”

“Spears?” Hikari said, looking lost.

“Yeah,” Taichi remarked, looking at the nurse and the fairy who had accompanied Hikari. “I’m not sure what kind of reception you got when you first arrived here, but ours could have stood being a bit friendlier, that’s for sure.”

Hikari cleared her throat and looked over at the fairy stood by her side.

“Actually, it was one of Alwyn’s squad who captured me in the first place,” she said. “Alwyn, this is Taichi, my brother and the Chosen of Courage. Taichi, this is Alwyn. He’s…well. Ithel asked him to keep me safe until we got back to the city.”

Takeru couldn’t help but frown slightly at the sight of Hikari’s new bodyguard. The fairy didn’t look much older than _he_ was. Still, there was definitely a no-nonsense look about him, and he didn’t wilt under what was almost certainly a stern stare from Taichi, which had to count in the newcomer’s favour.

“I am honoured to meet you, Chosen of Courage,” Alwyn said, bowing. The wings on his back took a few seconds to settle when he stood again. “Hikari has told me much about you, and your previous quests to save the…ah…Di-gi-tal world.”

“Just ‘Taichi’ is fine, really. And…thanks for looking after my sister. I mean, I’d have preferred her not to need looking after at all, but, well. We _are_ in a prophecy again. I guess none of us can guarantee we’ll stay out of harm’s way until this is over.”

He looked round at Takeru and sighed. Takeru looked down at his hands. He was pretty sure that Taichi had been hovering over him out of some sense of duty to Yamato, and no doubt the fact that Hikari had emerged from danger apparently unhurt was both a relief and a source of guilt for their leader. He _really_ hoped that he’d be rid of the mess of bandages before they found his older brother. A reunion where Taichi got punched in the face wasn’t really going to help anyone.

Takeru closed his eyes, trying to block out the inevitable thought which followed that: _If_ there was a reunion. Hikari and Taichi were back together, but no one had any idea what had happened to Yamato, or even where he was. And now Sora had vanished without a trace as well, and all anyone knew was that she’d been alone in his father’s apartment with Piyomon. As Taichi had said, _anything_ could have happened, sure—but the answer which made most sense to Takeru was that Yamato had come back, and dragged Sora away with him through a fear gate.

 _Just like I did with Koushiro,_ he thought glumly. _So what scared him so badly? And if it was that bad, why haven’t he or Sora come back?_

“Takeru?” Patamon said, nudging one of the few spots on his arm which wasn’t bandaged over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said, but his heart wasn’t particularly in the lie. “I…I wish Yamato was here, that’s all. And I want to be out there looking for him, but I can’t even get out of this bed. I feel useless.”

That much was true, at least. He _was_ glad to see Hikari, but as she chatted merrily away to Taichi, Tailmon and the fairy she’d introduced as Alwyn, he found it harder and harder to be relieved that she was safe. They’d known that already, after all. What no one knew—or even knew how to find out—was what had happened to his brother.

The thought popped into his head without warning: What if Yamato hadn’t come back again because he’d been killed? So far they’d all been thrown out before dying because they’d been scared enough, but what if Yamato had gone back and died before he realised what was going on? When he’d fallen through the roof with Koushiro, there hadn’t been time to be scared and then it was all over anyway. But if he’d fallen from a bit higher, or if the roof had completely collapsed straight away…

 _No_ , he told himself. _Stop thinking about it._

It was too late. Already he could see the world tumbling over and over in his mind. He could practically _feel_ the air whipping at his face.

“Takeru!” Patamon cried.

He shuddered, and reached to grab his partner. They were falling! Falling—he needed to catch Patamon and clutch him safe and close. Takeru fumbled with arms which felt leaden and sluggish, and burned with pain. Was that the wind? It sucked at his lungs—he couldn’t breathe, but something had tangled his legs and—

“ _Takeru!_ ” a halfway familiar voice said firmly. The falling sensation ended with a lurch. “Takeru, you are in the healers' quarters. You are safe.”

The air was still. He felt a hand close around his arm and yelped as it pressed on a burn. Closing his eyes tightly, he opened them again to see a ceiling, blessedly solid. Underground. He was underground. Not falling. Not in the air.

“Can you hear me?” the voice said.

He turned to its owner and saw the nurse watching him, her expression calm. It took a moment to realise that in addition to the hand which gripped his arm—more gently now—her other hand rested upon his shoulder, warm and soothing. The deep ache down his back was easing even as he stared.

“Okay. Takeru, can you tell me where you are?” she asked.

As she spoke, calmness washed over him in waves. He could feel his heartrate settling again. Feel the tension in his limbs easing.

“I…I’m underground,” he muttered. “What did you _do?_ ”

She nodded. “We dryads have an ability to heal. It is limited, and tiring to keep it up, but I considered this an urgent case, given the… _conditions_ of your arrival in this world. You carry a burden in your mind, one similar to that which I have felt in many of my patients. A shadow—not of darkness, but of memory. The past shapes us, and this can be for good or ill. These episodes should grow fewer over time, but you would do well to see a healer of the mind. One who could help ease them sooner.”

Takeru frowned, looking past her to see that at some point, Taichi and Hikari must have left the room. He hung his head.

“But I don’t get it. This… It wasn’t even the first time I’ve fallen a long way. It happened before, in the digital world, but the only thing about all those times which bothered me was—” He glanced over at Patamon and sighed. “Something else.”

“I died,” Patamon said, quite calmly. Takeru’s stomach lurched at the words, and he hugged his partner as tightly as he could manage with his free arm.

“I cannot explain why some bad memories bring waking dreams and leave a shadow, and why others do not. Our minds are the seat of our being. The most difficult part of the body to understand and to heal. All I can say is that time _will_ ease the worst of it, although it may not heal it altogether by itself. I can explain to the Chosen of—”

“No!” Takeru said. “I…I mean—I know he has to know, really. I just don’t want him treating me differently, I guess. It’s bad enough already.”

The nurse raised an eyebrow. “You are tender in years, and your safety is paramount to the future of our world. I believe it is understandable that your friends and travelling companions would wish to safeguard you.”

“I’m not _that_ young—”

“Chosen of Hope, I have witnessed more than a hundred and twenty summers in my lifetime. Save Sjarel, who has but a human’s span of time upon this world, there are none among the Elders whose years number less than a hundred and fifty. By the reckoning of many in this world, you are unfathomably young to be entrusted with its future. After all, though your presence here is prophesied, that does not make you immortal. Nor does it make your companions unreasonable when they are concerned for your wellbeing. I advise you to make peace with the present. It may also aid you in laying to rest the past. And have patience.”

Takeru stared at her. “Uhh…”

“For now, I believe you should rest. When you awaken, I am sure your companions will have arranged for you to be transported to more comfortable surroundings.” She produced a small vial from a pocket, and held it out to him. “Here. Drink this. It will help you sleep soundly, and without troublesome dreams.”

“But I’ve only been _awake_ a few hours,” he said, biting back a yawn.

“Regardless, I advise sleep. If it may be an incentive for you, I am sure your escape from the healers’ quarters will be far easier if you comply with the instructions of the healers here, of which I am but one.”

Takeru sighed, and nodded. It was only after he had drained the vial of its contents and sunk back into the recess of his pillow, sleep already tugging at his eyelids, that he realised he’d never mentioned nightmares to the nurse, or healer, or whatever she was.

“How did you know?” he asked, but the words came out as little more than a mumble. Patamon settled at his side once more, and he slept.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! 
> 
> I'm not as happy with this chapter as I could be, and if I come back and tweak anything, it will most likely be that conversation at the end. But at this point, I've been staring at the chapter all dratted week and it's not going to change from being a somewhat slower-paced one. Besides, we got some reunions at last! Hurrah! 
> 
> ...I also want to thank everyone for being so patient with me this last few months. Updates have been slow, and what with NaNoWriMo approaching in a couple of months, that's unlikely to change. On the side of writing this, I'm also working on my own original novel, which is going to start eating into my time more and more as I progress with it. I will do my best to keep my fics going, but please bear with me if the updates get a little patchy for a while - I want to have a good draft of my novel finished by April, which means some serious work.


	34. Chapter 34

_Monday, 5:30pm_

It was turning into a _long_ evening. Daisuke drummed his fingers on the table, wondering when his parents were going to show up so that he could head back to the digital world and trade places with Iori. Why did everyone have to keep making things more complicated? Jumping in and out of the digital world wasn’t hard; he’d be better off staying there where he could _do_ something, and then pop back once his dad finished work and they made it to the Yagami apartment.

The addition of Mimi’s mother to the gathering was _not_ helping, either. She’d done nothing but fuss and cry since arriving, and she’d screamed for a full minute when she’d realised that Palmon was _alive_. Chibimon and Poromon had hidden in Hikari's bedroom to wait for her to leave. Of course, it was becoming obvious that she had no intention of leaving all the while Mimi was still there. All the more reason to get out as quickly as he could.

“But I don’t understand _why!_ ” Mrs Tachikawa wailed, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief—again. Daisuke was pretty sure she was on her third by now. “My poor baby! She needs to go home to bed and rest, not stay up all night! Look at her arms! And her poor _face_.”

“Satoe,” Mrs Takaishi said, “We’ve been over this. None of us want our children to be in danger, but I’m afraid it’s not something anyone can change. We just have to trust them.”

“Honestly Mama, I’ll be fine,” Mimi said. Her arms were still firmly around Palmon—she hadn’t let go of her partner since they’d been reunited.

Daisuke sighed, and turned back to Miyako.

“Anything new yet?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Just that the new world is actually an old one or something. Older than the Digital world, at any rate. And it confirms what Hikari thought—the others basically have to save this new world. Or…old world? Well, it’s new to us, anyway. I don’t really care how long it’s actually been around. And I _think_ that what it’s saying is, when things went wrong in the digital world, they went wrong it a lot of other places too, so now they have to fix that as well? It’s all just so _vague_ , though.”

“So how come it’s just the others?” Daisuke asked, leaning over to look at the laptop. “I mean, we were right there saving the Digital world too, weren’t we? How come it left us out this time?”

Miyako frowned. “Well, that’s the thing which is worrying me a bit. So far, this just says ‘Chosen Children’. I know the people in that other world knew about the crests, but there’s nothing here which says it’s just the nine of them. Honestly, it’s so completely unspecific that you could even read it and assume that _everyone_ with a partner digimon is meant to help—although I really don’t think that’s likely to happen. But there’s nothing about the crests here that I can see. And I’m not an expert on old digicode the way Koushiro or Gennai are, but I’m sure that if there was a list of all the crests, they would have noticed that straight away.”

Now _that_ was a development Daisuke could get behind. “So you think we’re maybe involved too? That’s good, right? I mean, the more of us there, the stronger we’ll be as a group. And you, me, and Iori aren’t injured or all that tired, so we could help the rest of them.”

“No!” Miyako cried, looking horrified. “We really _don’t_ want to get caught up in this! I mean, even aside from the fact we don’t know how long it’s going to take everyone to get back, what happens to the Digital world if we’re not there? As it is, all three of us are going to be stretched to keep things in check there. If we’re not around, the distortions and those weird creatures coming out of them might spread out of control and end up in the _real_ world, and there won’t be anyone left to take care of them before they cause serious trouble.”

Daisuke winced.

“Okay, you’ve got a point there,” he said, leaning back onto the back legs of his seat. “But I mean, if we _do_ get pulled in, we’re not really gonna have a choice about it, right? All I’m thinking is, if this is something which might actually happen, maybe Gennai should pull in some of the international Chosen now, and get them…I dunno, trained up? I mean, it might be a good idea to have more than just three of us _anyway_.”

Miyako stared at him. “Are…are you suggesting we might not be able to manage? _You?_ ”

“Hey, hey, don’t get me wrong,” Daisuke said, raising his hands up defensively.

He sat up straight, making the front two chair-legs hit the ground with a thud. “We’re a pretty awesome team. If it was just about protecting the Digital world, we’d be fine. But—” he glanced over at the adults and lowered his voice— “Gennai’s worried, you know? It’s getting worse _fast_ , and…well. Even camped out there, we can only be in three places at once, and _that’s_ taking chances on being able to sort things alone. It’s not like it was with BlackWarGreymon, where all the problems followed him. They’re just popping up any old where this time.”

He and Miyako looked back over at the living area, where Mrs Tachikawa had started crying again. Even _Ken’s_ mother had started to comfort her, patting her hand awkwardly.

“Man, I kinda get why Mimi didn’t call her sooner,” Daisuke muttered. “At least my parents aren’t gonna to do _this_.”

Miyako rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Normally I’d say you were being rude,” she said out of the corner of her mouth. “But right now I’m tired enough to actually agree with you.”

He had to grin at that.

 

* * *

 

_Monday, 6:30pm (6:30am local time)_

It was taking a while, but Ken had started to put together a mental map of the parts of the underground city he found himself in. For the most part, this consisted of the hospital area; a relatively small gathering of rooms and corridors considering that it was apparently the city’s only major medical facility. He hadn’t particularly wanted to venture further afield all the while that Jou was confined to a hospital bed. With no word yet from any of the others, they were each others’ only familiar company in a decidedly unfamiliar world.

Wormmon was a reassuring weight in his arms as he sat on a bench in a rather comfortable waiting area just inside the hospital area. It actually had glass windows offering a view of part of the “Fastness” beyond; a large, ornate hall with a few people starting to wander around, even at what was apparently a relatively early point in the world’s morning.

One of the dwarfs had offered him a tour some hours back, but he had declined, giving the excuse that he ought to stay close to Jou in case they had word from Earth. The truth was that he didn’t really think he’d remember much about a tour, and the thought of wandering around for hours feeling disoriented was far from appealing at that moment.

They’d been offered space in the Fastness’ guest chambers, but as the doctors had suggested that Jou ought to rest—and that he may as well stay put until the morning got started and the porters woke up—the location of these ‘chambers’ was still a mystery. Ken wasn’t particularly worried about them in any case. What was more troubling was the fact that he still hadn’t heard back from Miyako.

“Maybe she’s busy?” Wormmon said, although even he sounded doubtful.

Ken shook his head, staring down at his D-Terminal glumly. “The way we vanished…they’ll want to know where we are and what happened. It’s been _hours_. We should have heard something by now. I…I don’t think the messages are getting through. Which means _mine_ probably didn’t, either. And if that’s true, then they don’t know that we’re safe. They’ll all be worried.”

“But Ken, if you were in danger you’d go back, wouldn’t you? Just like Jou did before. They all know that.”

“Yes, but Takeru and Koushiro didn’t, even after they were injured. Taichi’s message said they were both hurt when returning to this world, and they still haven’t gone back. Miyako read that message too. And Jou’s ankle was already broken when he brought us here. We should let them know that he’s going to be okay. I…I think we should go back up to the surface and see if we can send a message from there.”

He had forgotten that they had been assigned a guard: a large, barrel-chested man sat a little way to one side, who had already started to doze. Apparently that had been in appearance only, because at Ken’s words he sat bolt upright and shook his head.

“Too dangerous. No sense in poking your nose up there on the surface these days. Nowt but Olitiau and other foul creatures roam around at night, and during the day…Well. It ain’t natural.”

Ken looked down at Wormmon briefly, then back up at the man. “Not natural how?”

The man shook his head. “I can’t say as I’ve ever been up to look, myself. Not that I’ve anything against sunlight—I’m human enough, when you get right down to it. Not really natural for us to spend our lives in some cursed hole either, even if it _is_ as grand as the Fastness. Plenty of us get taken by the wasting, these days, with magic for the Sun Gardens running short. But I hear tell the mountain tops themselves crumble, only to flicker and reappear as they were before just hours later. It’s not right. Landslides, collapses: they’re honest enough, normally. But not these ones.”

“That…that sounds like what Jou got caught up in, the first time he appeared,” Ken said. “He said the mountain came down on top of him, but… now that I think about it, there were no signs of a landslide when I wound up there.”

“Aye. The scouts’ll tell you, true enough. And I’ve no wish to see solid earth flicker and vanish before my eyes, as though it were made of some Fae’s glamour.”

Ken frowned. “But what if that’s the only way?”

Wormmon shook his head. “But we’re going to go to find the others, aren’t we? That’s what those important people said.”

The man laughed. “The councillors? Aye, when they’ve time to assemble the men for a voyage. But nothing gets done these days. It all has to pass before the Lord, and word in the tunnels is, he sleeps more hours than he wakes, let alone works. Not to mention you’ll be hard-pressed finding a full guard to go with you on such a voyage. We’re short just keeping the Fastness secure these days, without sending good men off on a one-way trip to the Grand Council.”

“One way?” Wormmon asked, as Ken felt his stomach lurch.

“It means he doesn’t think we’d survive,” he told his partner. Swallowing heavily he added: “But that’s because he doesn’t know us.”

The man sighed, and got to his feet. Walking over, he clapped a broad hand on Ken’s shoulder with enough force to make him wince.

“Listen, lad. I’ve no doubt there’s some kind of power inside of you which the Grand Council could turn useful. I’ve heard tell of many a stranger thing in my life. But you’d have to _get_ there first, and therein lies the problem. Even by the safest road, we lose too many messengers just going to the Forest City, and that’s but a two or three day march. It’s been so long since we heard from the Grand Council, I’m not even sure there _is_ a road any more.”

Against all reason, Ken found himself shaking his head. “We…we can’t just give up,” he said, meeting the man’s eyes. “I have a friend—another Chosen Child—and if he were here, he’d say the same. We’ve done things which I thought were impossible before. And we’re stronger than we look. If we really _have_ been called here, then I’m sure we can find a way to fix things…somehow.”

Wormmon nodded; he could see the movement out of the corner of his eye. But the man held him in a stare, and something about it told Ken that to look away would be a mistake.

At last, his bodyguard laughed, and those piercing brown eyes turned away from his own. Ken relaxed a little. Staring contests were far more Daisuke’s field than his, usually.

“Well, you’ve plenty of spirit, lad, I’ll grant you that. But spirit and guts alone won’t save you out there.”

Ken smiled, and looked down at Wormmon instead. “It’s not just spirit,” he said. “I have my partner—all of us have our partners. We saved the Digital World together, so I’m sure…if we _all_ work together, I’m sure we can help this one too. But you see, that’s why it’s so important that I get a message to my friends. I know Jou will say the same.”

The man sighed. “And that’s why you want the surface, eh—you think you’ve some edge to gain? Did you mention this to those old cadgers?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Ah, I mean our dear, _venerable_ advisers. You may notice that after their early morning parade down here to greet you, they all departed sharp enough. Bound for their beds once more, I’ve no doubt.” The man sighed, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. “Well, look. I’ve been set to guard you. Keep you safe. And I’ll not deny that they asked me to keep you out of harm’s way, too. But I’m no jailer, and it seems to me that being as the Fates seem to have been right about your turning up, they could be on to something with the rest, too. I’ll not take you out onto the mountainside, mind, but now that it’s morning there’s nothing to stop us venturing a bit closer than we are at present, and seeing if your…your little gadget there works its magic.”

Ken stood and bowed so quickly that he almost dropped Wormmon and his D-Terminal. His partner squeaked a protest and clung to his arm as he straightened once more.

“Thank you,” Ken said, clutching at both. “I should tell Jou where we are going, and ask if he has a message for me to send if this works, but I’ll return straight away. The sooner we can let everyone know what happened to us the better, and there’s always a chance they might have valuable information for us too.”

 

* * *

 

In the event, the going turned out to be far slower than Ken had hoped. Jou was dozing when he returned to the hospital ward, and although Gomamon was able to wake him up by being far more insistent—and, frankly, _blunt_ —than Ken would have dared be, rousing him also managed to attract the attention of the nurse on duty, who then insisted on checking Ken over once more.

By the time they escaped, the time on Ken’s D-Terminal read closer to 7pm. What had everyone else been doing in all that time? Had Mimi returned? Had Hikari made it safely to the Forest City with Alwyn? What about Yamato and Sora? And what had his mother said, when she had arrived at the Yagamis’ only to learn that he had vanished— _again?_

It had been downhill all the way when they’d been led into the Fastness. Now they plodded steadily upwards, step by step. His legs burned, and his arm ached from hauling on the railing which had been fastened into the side of the narrow passage to aid travellers.

The lights were dim, by the standards of the world at least. Although each bulb was surrounded by a halo of light which was bright enough to make Ken’s eyes ache, it was at least restful by comparison with the lights of the rest of the city. And it was odd, really, how even the brightness of the bulbs didn’t seem to fully illuminate all the corners. The tunnel had a shadowy, disused look about it that made Ken hug his partner tightly as they walked on, and on, and on.

Ahead of him, his bodyguard was muttering curses on the passageway’s architect, and on stairs in general. As they wound their way up the meandering tunnel, Ken caught snatches here and there:

“…never mentioned how far up it was…catch _me_ doing this again…should’a stayed in the mines…”

Finally, with a loud cry of: “A _pox_ on stairs!” the man stopped, and leant against the wall, breathing heavily.

Ken sank gratefully to the floor a few stairs down, and massaged his calves to ease out the cramps. As the pain eased, he fished in his pocket for his D-Terminal. It was still resolutely silent.

He turned to look up the passageway once more. _We can’t be far now_ , he thought, getting to his feet. _Surely we didn’t march this long going down?_

Gritting his teeth, he started up the stairs once more. His bodyguard waved him on.

“Stay in sight, lad,” the man said, clutching at his side. “But I’m done in for now. Give an old man a minute to catch his breath.”

Ken nodded, and held the D-Terminal aloft as he plodded on, letting Wormmon manage the stairs on his own for a while. His free hand was busy clutching at the railing to keep himself from falling down. The staircase wasn’t entirely straight, but it was unrelenting. If he started falling now, he had no idea how long it would be before something brought him to a halt. He didn’t want to think about what sort of a state he would be in by that point.

The curve of the walls was about to take him out of sight when his D-Terminal suddenly bleeped. He cried out in joy, letting go of the railings just long enough to almost lose his balance as he turned to celebrate with Wormmon, then clutched it again to save himself from falling.

“Fates preserve us, what was _that!_ ” the man cried from below, hurtling up the stairs as though they _hadn’t_ been marching to the point of exhaustion.

“We made it where we needed to go,” Ken said, grinning despite his exhaustion. He flipped the D-Terminal open. “That was a message from my friends.”

“Well I’ll be. Magic?”

Ken started to shake his head, then stopped. “Well…uh…not usually, at least. It’s technology. Like electricity—only I suppose I’m not entirely sure how it manages to work between this world and Earth.” He frowned at the screen. The messages were what he had expected—Miyako expressing increasing amounts of concern for Jou and himself, and asking that they contact everyone. If Jou was right, they would be getting his initial message about now, just as Takeru’s had been delayed. But how exactly _were_ the D-Terminals working? It made sense in the real world, where there was a global telecomms network. It even made sense in the Digital world, which was entirely digital data. But this world was entirely different; neither computer data nor with modern technology. For that matter, they still weren’t entirely sure what the nature of the place even _was_.

The D-Terminal bleeped again.

_::Ken, you’re both okay? Your message was dated quite a while ago. What’s happening now? Jou’s ankle is broken? Who are the people helping you? Do you know where you are? Your parents are both here now, and they’re very glad to know that you were safe, but I don’t think it was enough to convince them fully, although to be honest they’re coping a lot better than Mrs Tachikawa. She’s driving everyone nuts—even Iori, and he only just got back from the Digital World.::_

“Ken?” Wormmon said, clambering onto his lap. “Is everything okay?”

He sighed, and nodded. “It’s fine, Wormmon,” he said, tapping out a reply. “I just need to let everyone know what’s been happening and where we are, and to reassure my parents that I’m safe.” Frowning, he added: “Well, safe for _now_.”

“A regular marvel,” his bodyguard said, with obvious awe. “Why, what we couldn’t do with gadgets like that.”

“I just wish there was a way to make them work everywhere,” Ken remarked, hitting send. “I’ve let everyone know that I won’t be able to communicate once we head back down to the Fastness, but I’m afraid I need to stay here a little longer while I catch up on the news. I’m sorry to make you wait.”

The man shook his head. “Gives my poor legs time to recover before the trek back down,” he said, grinning. “It’s too dangerous, I know, but I’ll not deny there’s a part of me itching to carry on, and see the surface for myself, having come so close.”

“You’ve really never seen it?” Ken asked. He wasn’t sure that he could imagine spending a whole life trapped underground.

“Just the Sun Gardens, lad. They’re…well. The Fae created them, with a bit of help. For those of us as need sunlight for our health, and the like. They’re designed to make you feel like you’re on the surface. Still, while I’ve heard they’re a close substitute, I’ll not deny that I’m curious. But I’ve no death wish, either. And it’ll be my head if I let you stray close to danger.”

Ken was about to ask how much danger they could really be in just by looking at the sky when his D-Terminal bleeped once again.

“Excuse me,” he said, nodding as he read the message. “I…oh.”

_::Okay, that’s good to know. At least you found a spot where you can get a message through? Hopefully it will get easier when you can travel to this Grand Council, wherever that is. I’m still waiting on Taichi to get back to me with a possible location, but if the people you’re with know where the Forest City is, you might be able to link up with the others before heading there. As for what’s been happening…it’s mixed. Hikari made it safely, and she’s linked up with the others, but apparently Takeru’s still sleeping off the last few days, and we’ve still not had any news about Yamato or Sora. Iori and Daisuke have been in the digital world trying to hold off the distortions. The plan is now for us to “go missing” in the night, assuming Mimi’s alright after the whole midnight thing. I’m going to be heading over to Gennai’s house first thing in the morning. We might need to call on some of the International Chosen at this rate, because apparently things aren’t getting any better. I won’t be able to monitor things as well as fight, so…well, basically Mrs Takaishi’s going to take care of that. I think the adults want something to do, to be honest, and Taichi reckoned that his and Takeru’s mothers are level-headed enough not to panic if things go a bit…wrong. But don’t worry for now. I passed on that you’re doing fine to your parents, and showed them your message, and they’ve calmed right down. I’ll make sure to keep you up to date as much as possible, but you’ll have to let us know when you can receive messages, okay?::_

“What’s wrong?” Wormmon asked, long before Ken had finished digesting the mountain of text.

Ken shook his head and re-read it two more times. There was a lot to digest…but there was also a lot which had remained unsaid. Why was Mimi’s mother so worried? Why hadn’t Miyako mentioned anything about the prophecy? And what was happening in the digital world?

“Things are happening too quickly,” he said, sighing. “Last time…it got serious towards the end, but it didn’t spiral out of control so _fast_. What if we can’t keep up with it all?”

 

* * *

 

_Monday, 11:45pm_

Natsuko frowned down at her notebook and massaged her temples. It was going to be a long night. The list of phone numbers stared back at her baldly; a nagging list to press on her thoughts. Waiting. They were all waiting—all those families—to hear what had happened to their loved ones.

But that was nothing new. It was a pressure she lived with day to day. Deadlines; demands for information which she didn’t yet possess. And the stakes were always so much higher when her own children were involved, but even this… It wasn’t the first time they had disappeared, after all, caught up in events far greater than most people ever faced _once_ , let alone more than that. She just hadn’t realised until much later on in the proceedings.

Beside her, Miyako nodded in a chair, in very real danger of landing on the laptop she had been using to communicate with the others since that morning. Natsuko gently moved it out of the way, and nodded over at Yuuko.

“I think you’ve done enough for one day,” the other woman said, walking over and helping Miyako to her feet. “Come on, you can sleep in Hikari’s bed tonight.”

“But… I haven’t…” the girl mumbled, half asleep already.

“It’s fine,” Nasuko said. “I can take over from here. You’ll be heading to the digital world in the morning, most likely, so you should rest while you can.”

She sighed as Miyako nodded tiredly, pushing her glasses back up her nose, and let herself be led out of the room. Mimi was already asleep in there, propped up against the wall with cushions, with Palmon sat beside her waiting for midnight. Her mother had finally succumbed to the generous amount of sake which Mr Tachikawa had brought with him, and lay asleep on his shoulder in the living room.

 _She won’t be happy when she wakes up_ , Natsuko thought, sighing. But that was a problem for the morning. And there was no sense worrying about it when there was a chance Mimi might have come back by then.

With Miyako out of the way, Natsuko pulled the laptop across the table and opened it to read the latest messages. It was a blessing, really, that Ken had brought his own and set up their peculiar message programme on it before vanishing himself. She’d had a look at Koushiro’s, briefly. No _wonder_ Kae and Masami were proud of him. Miyako had explained how the passwords worked and she _still_ hadn’t been able to type them in before it timed her out.

 _Too old-fashioned_ , she told herself. _But I’m going to have to get used to this, if I want to help. Notebooks and shorthand aren’t going to be any help, that’s for certain._

Miyako had left her D-Terminal on the table beside the laptop, presumably by accident rather than design. Still, by the way it bleeped every time someone sent a message, that was probably for the best. She’d looked dead on her feet, the poor thing, with eyes red and bloodshot from hours of pouring over text documents on a screen.

But so far, the picture they all had was scattered. It couldn’t be helped, of course—they were _children_ , after all, and already coped far better than Natsuko thought most adults would have. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try and get a better picture of what had been going on. Tie together those loose ends and try to turn them into some sort of _sense_. And that was something she could do. It was what she did all the time.

“Time… _time_ …” She looked up at the clock, and stood. “It’s almost midnight—”

“Mimi!” Keisuke cried, getting to his feet. His wife dropped to the sofa with only the faintest of murmurs, too soundly asleep to stir.

“Now, you mustn’t panic,” Natsuko said, holding out her hands. “I’m afraid it does look rather alarming, but you must remember that this has happened before, and we’ve no reason to suppose she won’t be— Well. She knows what she’s doing.”

They both looked through the open doorway, where Yuuko waited beside Mimi, speaking softly to Palmon.

“I don’t understand,” Keisuke said. “You say she’s going to disappear at midnight, but she’s just sleeping.”

Natsuko glanced down at her watch. _Three…two…one…_

“Any moment now,” she murmured, then grabbed onto Mr Tachikawa’s shirt sleeve as the clouds billowed out and enveloped the girl in darkness.

Palmon clung to her and was swallowed up as well. By the time her watch read just over a minute past the hour, it was all over.

“That time was faster, don’t you think?” Yuuko said, getting to her feet. She was doing her best to smile, but there was no disguising the unease in her voice.

Natsuko nodded. “It was. I timed her, this time and the last. It sped up by about fifteen seconds or so.”

“My…Mimi…”

Keisuke staggered, and Natsuko lurched trying to offer him support. For a moment it seemed that she’d be dragged down with him, but he recovered enough to stand by bracing himself on the sofa.

“Now we wait,” Natsuko said, letting go so she could return to the laptop. “We wait to hear their news. All we can do is trust them to keep each other safe.”

“But—but Mimi hasn’t anyone with her!”

Yuuko shook her head. “She has her partner. Palmon would lay down her life to protect Mimi, just as any of the other digimon would protect our children. And—” She looked briefly at Natsuko before continuing: “And there’s a chance that Mimi could find Sora and Yamato, and then they would all be able to keep each other safe.”

 _Yamato_.

It was like a blow, striking in her gut. She felt sick. Sick with worry, and fear, and visions of doom which whirled through her mind. Both her sons gone, and one of them without a trace. If anything happened to them…

 _No_ , she thought. _I can’t afford to do this_.

Natsuko closed her eyes, and clenched the fingers of her left hand so tightly that the nails bit into her palm. “We have to trust them,” she said, speaking shortly. If she let herself dwell on things she’d end up like _Satoe_ , and that wouldn’t help anyone. “Trust them, and do what we can at this end to make it possible for them to settle back into their lives when it’s all over. And it _will_ be over at some point. We’ll get them back.”

She turned to face the others, and added: “ _All_ of them.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I'm glad to get this update out. I've been deliberating for a while on whether or not to give a parents' perspective in all of this, and I think now's about the time. Obviously there's a bit more headcanoning required to write the parents, thanks to the absense of real characterisation for most of them in the actual series, but hopefully I'm drawing on what we do have in a way that feels believable. 
> 
> I won't be giving a huge focus to the parents in this story (frankly, Hope's Fire has already spiralled into this wildly large and unwieldy fic just as it is!), but I didn't want to entirely skip out on the real world, and it should be obvious by this point that without at least one parent to narrate things, that won't be possible soon. We're getting closer to Arc Two now, and I really can't wait to write some of the upcoming plot-points. 
> 
> And of course, it goes without saying that I am intensely grateful for all the positive feedback I've had so far with HF. It really does mean a lot to know that people are following or enjoying this story, so I hope I can keep entertaining you with each update!


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! _Finally_ , after months of pottering and diversions with other projects. I am incredibly sorry for the length of time it's taken me to get back to this story, and I really do hope it won't happen again, but as I have half a novel to write by April, and several other in-progress fics as well, I don't want to make any more promises about my update schedule for the foreseeable future. I can only promise that I _absolutely_ intend to get to the end of this story, as I do with all my ongoing fanfiction projects, and I am eternally grateful for everyone's patience while I muddle through the more stressful half of the year!

_Tuesday, 12:10am (12:10pm local time)_

Mimi blinked uncertainly. The sun was high overhead, and she winced, shading her eyes. Everything was so _bright!_ The colours were rich enough that her eyes watered. It took her a good minute or so before she could take a proper look at her surroundings, or anything much beyond the smudge of green at her feet which was her partner.

She was stood in an enclosed garden surrounded by walls, and the ground had been churned up in several places. Two copper pots lay on the ground.

The garden looked a lot different in the over-bright sunlight, especially now that it was devoid of large, terrifying creatures which had looked a lot like wolves save for the porcupine-esque spines on their backs. She rubbed her eyes. She hadn’t gone back to the same place as before?

“Mimi!” Palmon cried. “You’ve got your bag with you!”

She looked down and gasped. The onbuhimo which Mrs Yagami had given her was strapped over her chest, with the strap of her bag tucked beneath it. As she leant forward it tugged at her back, and she winced. Still, if she had _that_ , then it meant…

“My digivice!” she cried. “Oh, and my phone, too! Palmon, I’ve got everything with me! We can tell the _others!_ ” She took a deep breath. “Right. Time to sort out all this light.”

She fished in her bag, and pulled out her sunglasses, settling them over her eyes with a sigh of relief before pulling out her phone.

“Are you going to be okay, Palmon? I can lend you my spare pair if you like, but I think they might be a little awkward to wear.”

Palmon shook her head. “It’s okay. The light doesn’t really bother me too much. It’s a bit brighter than the digital world, but not too bad.”

“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” Mimi said doubtfully. “But let me know if you need them. You _are_ meant to be resting, after all.”

She knelt down, wrapping her arms around her partner. The bulky fabric of the onbuhimo between them made it more than a little awkward. Pulling away, she opened up the chat programme Koushiro had installed, and tapped out a quick message.

_::I have all my things. Safe for now.::_

The garden was quiet and still. If it hadn’t been for the deep gouges in the dirt, and the copper pans abandoned where she and Palmon had dropped them, Mimi might almost have believed it wasn’t the same one. But those things _were_ there, which meant the creatures were as well. What was she supposed to do? The garden was surrounded by walls on all sides, and the only obvious way out was through the house again.

“We need to get out of this garden,” she muttered. “But I _really_ don’t want to go back in there.”

“Mimi, you do have your digivice,” Palmon said. “I could evolve and—”

“—No!” Mimi cried. “Palmon, you _can’t!_ Look, I’ll just…we went in one of those houses in the daytime here _before_ , and it was…it was…”

Palmon laid a hand on Mimi’s arm. “I’m _fine_ , Mimi. It won’t take long. I’ll just evolve for long enough to break through a few of these walls and fences so we can get away through a different house, or find another way out.”

Mimi looked from her partner to the house. She didn’t want Palmon getting hurt, but would they _really_ be any better off going through the house again?

“Well, if you’re _sure_ you’ll be okay,” she said doubtfully. “But don’t tire yourself out too much, alright?”

Palmon nodded. “Ready?”

“Well of course I—oh!” Mimi cried, turning away a fraction too late as the bright light from her partner’s evolution almost blinded her, even through her sunglasses. She blinked away spots as the glow subsided to reveal Togemon stood in the garden—taking up more than half of the space, in fact. It was something of a relief when the first wall crumbled and they were able to spread out a little.

Three garden walls later, Mimi could tell that her partner was tiring. It was too much, coming right after a serious injury and hardly any rest. When Togemon started to glow after pummelling the fourth wall into rubble, Mimi shielded her eyes and ran straight over. Palmon lay groaning on the top of the debris.

“Sorry…Mimi…” she mumbled.

“Oh don’t you _dare_ apologise Palmon,” Mimi whispered, blinking back tears. “It’s quite alright. I shouldn’t have asked you to do it, and I can carry you from here, okay?”

She tried not to wince as she clutched her partner tight. The fabric of her school blouse pulled against the scrapes on her back, rubbing them enough that she felt like she was sat next to a fire. Her whole back felt tight and uncomfortably warm. Still. It was sunny—far _too_ sunny, even for her liking. Maybe it was just the heat?

There was no way for her to be comfortable with Palmon tucked into the onbuhimo, but it was certainly better than the alternative. Palmon had been tired and recovering to begin with, and that was before evolving to knock down walls. Really, it was just lucky that she hadn’t devolved into Tanemon.

 _Although at least Tanemon wouldn’t be as heavy_ , she thought, thoroughly ashamed at herself even as the notion popped into her head. She absolutely should not be thinking that sort of thing. They were stranded in an unknown and _definitely_ hostile city, without anyone else to help them and with only a small bag of emergency supplies. Palmon devolving into Tanemon would be a disaster.

She looked around the garden they had made it to. There was only one way out, and that was through the house it belonged to—which was definitely a far more unpleasant prospect in the wake of her previous visit to this world. Still, surely she’d be safe enough peering in through the window? The house she’d first visited had been safe enough, and that had looked intact, with none of the furniture scattered or upended. She just needed to check for signs of those… _things_ before going in.

The kitchen window was filthy, but the vague shapes on the far side of the accumulated dust and dirt looked undisturbed. The back door was closed, however, and rattling the handle served only to make a lot of noise.

 _Now what?_ she thought.

Togemon smashing down the garden walls hadn’t roused anyone—or any _thing_ —so far, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she could carry on making a din without consequence. At some point she was likely to run into more of those soldier people from before, and she needed to make sure they heard her message from Alwyn’s ‘Elder’, Ithel. They certainly weren’t going to give her time to talk if they found her while she attempting to break down a door.

But in order to find the soldiers, she needed to get back onto the streets. The run of gardens she’d wound up in simply backed onto more houses, all of which looked less tumbledown than the garden she’d stumbled into on her first visit. She _had_ to get into the house.

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it then,” she said with a sigh. Palmon looked too exhausted to even move, which meant it was up to _her_ to get herself out of trouble. Or, out of one kind of trouble, at least. Most likely she was about to wind up in a whole different sort before too much longer.

There were a few wooden canes in the garden, stuck into the sun-baked dirt with the remains of long-dead plants wound about them. She pulled one loose, and thumped it against the ground a few times to make sure it hadn’t gone brittle. Reassured that she wasn’t going to end up holding a stump, she marched up to the door. The top half was glass, filthy but still intact.

 _Not for much longer_ , she thought grimly, holding her makeshift weapon at arm’s length and looking away.

She swung the stick hard, wincing as it wrenched her wrist upon impact. The wood clattered against the glass. Nothing. Frowning, she took the stick in both hands and stood a little closer before trying again. Again, the stick hit and rebounded, skittering off without doing any real damage. _Now_ what?

After thwacking the window with a downward swipe a few more times, Mimi shifted her grip up a bit so that she could strike with the short end of the stick, end on. A stabbing motion was far more successful. The glass cracked on the first attempt, and in only three blows she’d managed to knock a large enough hole for her to lean through and pull back what turned out to be a deadbolt keeping the door closed. She gripped her stick with satisfaction as the door swung open, trying to ignore the prickle of guilt.

_It’s not breaking-and-entering if the house is abandoned anyway. Besides, I can’t just sit around feeling sorry for myself. I’ve got to find those soldier people, because they’re probably the ones who’ve got Yamato and Sora, and I’m the only one who can save them and explain what’s going on._

There was something about having a purpose which helped to quell the fear which had previously threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn’t just stumbling around, lost and afraid any more. She had a job to do, and she wasn’t about to let the others down by sitting and blubbing any more. Everyone else had bucked up and got on with it, after all, so why should she be any different?

“Ithel,” she muttered to herself as she tip-toed into the kitchen and checked for any other signs of disturbance. “Ithel, Ithel, Ithel. I’m an envoy from the Forest City, and I’m too important to shoot. No panicking this time. I just have to get them to listen, and then everything will be okay.”

She glanced down at Palmon, who had fallen asleep in the onbuhimo. Everything had _better_ be okay. She wasn’t really sure that the pair of them would pull through another fight in one piece.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, 12:56am (12:56pm local time)_

Takeru awoke from strange dreams about a desolate city and shadowy rooms, to more aching and general discomfort than he would have liked—even considering the fact he was lying in a hospital bed. It wasn’t so bad while he simply lay there, halfway conscious, but the moment he moved his head it _swam_ , and bright sparks danced across his vision.

“Takeru!” Patamon cried, in an entirely too-cheerful tone of voice. “You’re awake again!”

He groaned. “I don’t really know that I _am_ , to be honest. I feel awful.”

Patamon hovered in front of him. “The nurse said you gotta eat something, Takeru. They won’t let you get up until you do that.”

He frowned, and tried to blink away the spots in his vision. The lack of decent meals which had featured in his life over the last few days probably _did_ have something to do with his lightheadedness. He’d only had the disgusting concoction that had been handed out in the prison cell since arriving in the city, and that had been…wait. How long had he been asleep for?

“Patamon?” he croaked, coughing. “What…what time is it?”

Patamon shrugged then flew off to one side, returning with a small, enamelled cup half full of water. “The healers brought round some lunch a little while ago, but you were asleep still so they took your tray to keep it warm. It’s all _very_ different food to what you normally have in the human world Takeru.”

He helped Takeru drink water which had an odd tang to it, then returned the cup. Whatever the taste was, after a minute or so Takeru felt his head clear a little. He shuffled on the bed to sit up, and clutched at his temples as the world settled back into place around him. Well, at least he could move a little more easily.

“I’ll go fetch the healer!” Patamon cried, and was gone before Takeru could ask his partner to stay.

The light behind him hummed slightly, and without Patamon in the room he could hear muffled conversations in unseen rooms, but aside from that it was silent. Where had everyone gone?

 _Probably to eat, if Patamon was right about it being lunchtime_ , he thought. _I hope they’re all okay._

The bandages on his arms and face itched, but moving didn’t seem to be as difficult as it had been before he’d slept. Takeru wrinkled his nose, trying not to poke at the fabric despite a growing itch. After all, maybe some of the blisters _hadn’t_ popped. There was no sense doing himself more damage now.

“Ah, you’re upright, Chosen of Hope,” said a cheerful voice. He turned to see a man with short antlers sticking out of his head walk into the room. “How are you feeling this afternoon?”

“Uh…well, I think I’m okay? I don’t want to stay here any longer if I don’t have to.”

The man nodded, and Takeru found it hard to tear his gaze from the antlers to meet his eyes. They were light brown, and crinkled at the edges with a smile. “Well, let’s take a look at those arms of yours and see how we get on, shall we? That should be a good indication as to how the rest of you is faring.”

It was more than a relief to get a look at his arms and see that they were actually starting to heal. The one or two blisters which hadn’t ruptured had formed pink, shiny patches of skin, and his various other injuries were tender only to direct touches, rather than aching constantly. The doctor left them uncovered, then moved on to Takeru’s head, removing the layers of bandage which rubbed his face.

“I will leave the shoulder wound, and the deeper cuts to your torso,” the man said calmly. “We do not have the poultices and charms to spare to heal such injuries overnight at present. But I would say that, so long as you stick to loose-fitting clothes for a day or so, you should be safe enough to go without further dressings for the burns you sustained. Now, your feet were rather blistered, but these were pressure blisters, and the salve should have taken much of the soreness from them. I suspect they will be uncomfortable to stand upon for the next day or so, but walking will do you no lasting harm. Once you’ve shown that you can keep some food down, I see no reason not to release you from the ward.”

“That’s great,” Takeru said, smiling weakly. “But…er…what am I going to wear?”

The man nodded towards a neat pile of green and brown material which Takeru hadn’t even noticed on the table beside his bed. “Taken care of already,” he said. “We’ll call you back this evening to examine your other wounds, and I cannot overstate the importance of rest, but as I have said. After eating, I will summon a porter to escort you to the chambers which the Elders have allocated for your use.”

He managed to stay put until the doctor left him in the ward, then leant over to grab the bundle of material and shook it out. His eagerness faded almost immediately.

“What’s wrong, Takeru?”

“I think I might just stay here instead,” he muttered, holding up a large, baggy shirt. “What even is this thing? It’s almost long enough to be a _dress_.”

Patamon tilted his head to one side. “Does that matter?”

Takeru thought about the fate of his own shirt—not one of his favourites, admittedly—after their march through the woods. It wasn’t as though he’d been especially presentable even _before_ it had been cut off of him, but even so, it was a far cry from dressing like someone who’d just stepped out of a fantasy RPG. He stared morosely down at the material. They’d managed for months on end in the digital world with just the clothes on their backs and their partners to help them. In a way it had been like an unending dream. No matter what they’d gone up against, they’d emerged more or less unscathed. This time, his clothes had barely lasted a few days. And he’d _liked_ those jeans.

It was a stupid thing to worry about. He even felt embarrassed mentioning it to Patamon, who always accepted that there were things about being a human which digimon would eternally need explaining to them. But the fact was, there was something humiliating about having to be cut out of your clothes, and there was something deeply unsettling about the prospect of setting off into unknown dangers in just a baggy shirt and a pair of what he _seriously_ hoped weren’t leggings. Besides, being cut out of clothes in hospital was what happened when people were _properly_ hurt. It certainly didn’t bode well for their chances if they’d reached that point before they even knew what was going on. It was all too…too _real_. Everything, from the burns on his arms, to the knot in his gut if he thought about being up in the air, to—

“Takeru!” Patamon cried. “Are you okay?”

He flinched, belatedly noticing that he was trembling all over.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, biting back tears. “I just…I want to go _home_ , Patamon. I want to go home and for everyone else to be there too. I…I don’t _want_ another adventure. I don’t to be in a prophecy again. People always get hurt, or—”

Patamon landed on his lap, nudging the shirt out of the way and looking up at him with wide, placid eyes. “But I’m here to keep you safe, Takeru. And I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let anything bad happen this time.”

Takeru leant forward, ignoring the uncomfortable pull of bandages and the half-formed scab on his shoulder to hug his partner as tightly as he could manage.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Patamon,” he mumbled, only looking up when someone came into the ward with a tray of food.

 

* * *

 

  _Monday, 11:48pm_

Iori should be asleep. He knew that. They had a lot to do the next day—the next _many_ days, so far as anyone could guess. It wasn’t helping anyone for him to stay up so late. Daisuke had managed to get to sleep already, and was snoring on his futon with V-mon curled up next to him. Armadimon was slumbering peacefully by his side; too big in his child form to fit on his pillow as he usually did.

Was that the problem? It _had_ been a long time since he’d slept without the small, comforting warmth of Upamon on his pillow. They’d only ever stayed overnight in the digital world the once before, and although their partners probably _could_ hold their child forms in the real world indefinitely these days the way Patamon and Tailmon did, it was easier for them to stay small and discrete. He certainly wouldn’t be able to carry Armadimon to school the way he still did with Upamon now and then.

 _No_ , he thought eventually. _That’s not it._ It was _part_ of it, no doubts there, but the main problem was that he was not in his room. He was not in his apartment. He wasn’t even in his own _world_ , and he wasn’t allowed to go back there any more until they’d fixed what was going wrong. They didn’t even _know_ what was going wrong, let alone how to fix it. How long would they be stuck there?

He was worried. Worried about Yamato and Sora for certain, and for the others on a sliding scale which ran from “extremely concerned” to merely “very concerned”. He was even worried for Miyako and Daisuke—as well as himself—because having just the three of them to defend the entire digital world from an unknown threat didn’t seem especially wise or fair. Every other time there had been at _least_ five or six to pool their strengths together and look after one another.

Daisuke snored, and rolled over in his sleep. His arm draped over V-mon.

Iori frowned. And that was _another_ thing to worry about. Daisuke had returned from the real world with a theory from Miyako which they could _all_ have lived without. So far, the mysterious prophecy which had left them out hadn’t explicitly said they _weren’t_ involved, either. There was still a chance they might get caught up as well—and if that happened, who would be there to defend the digital world?

Gennai hadn’t seemed too concerned by this, which _was_ reassuring in a way, but then again he didn’t seem all that concerned about what was happening to the others either, and their situation really was quite dangerous. When Iori had asked, Gennai had simply responded that if there was a prophecy, then what would be had already been foretold. That the answers would emerge, and although they had to take it seriously and do their best, he had faith in them as Chosen Children. He was confident that they would win through in the end. That it would all turn out for the best.

This was all very well, Iori told himself, but an awful lot of bad things had happened to everyone before the end of their adventures last time. And not _everyone_ had emerged on the other side, happy and smiling. The best for everyone on the whole didn’t mean the best for every individual involved. The best in the end hadn’t stopped Koushiro from breaking his arm already, or Takeru from being hospitalised in a strange world.

He checked the time on his D3 and frowned. It was almost midnight. That was the time when, if anything was going to happen, it would. Daisuke was asleep, and you had to be asleep to go to the other world. Out of the three of them, presumably Miyako was in the most danger as she was in the real world, but even here…wait. If creatures were appearing in the digital world from the other place, surely that meant it would be _easier_ from here, not harder?

Iori frowned. What if they got dragged in from the digital world? Would it make the distortions worse?

He prodded Daisuke, suddenly worried. Perhaps they should be awake at midnight.

Daisuke, of course, merely grunted in his sleep and rolled over to face the other way. Iori hesitated, looking at his D3. Just a minute or two to go. Daisuke slept like a log. It would take far too long to wake him up at this point, and if he was touching him when something _did_ happen—

Iori sat up, heart racing from nerves, and watched. He couldn’t do anything else, and he hated that fact, but ultimately it just meant that he had to do this right. He had to make sure that if Daisuke disappeared, he could give an accurate account of it afterwards.

The seconds ticked by. Midnight approached and Iori held his breath.

Three, two, one.

Nothing.

Daisuke snored, and V-mon twitched slightly beside him. They looked about as peaceful as they were ever likely to. The seconds ticked by and there was no mysterious smoke or shadow.

He waited for a minute or two and then gradually relaxed, leaning back onto his futon and sliding down to lay with his back to Armardimon. It was okay. They weren’t involved. They weren’t getting dragged in. The weariness which had so far been absent crashed over him in a wave. Was _this_ what had been wrong?

Iori yawned, and let his eyes flutter closed as his partner nuzzled against his side. _Maybe it was_ , he thought sleepily. _I guess I was just worrying over nothing though._

Armadimon fidgeted, and he opened his eyes to roll over, spotting a tall figure standing in the doorway. Gennai nodded once and smiled at him as he settled back down under the covers. Oh. Of _course_ Gennai would check in on them both. He’d thought the same thing. Reassured, he closed his eyes once more and let his worries dissipate entirely. He fell asleep filled with renewed determination that tomorrow, they would do a good job. They could do this. Gennai trusted them, after all. He’d kept a watchful eye this whole time, even if they didn’t always notice. He was there to support them along the way. And in return, they wouldn’t let him down.

 

* * *

 

  _Tuesday, 12:17am (12:17pm local time)_

The house had been completely abandoned; a fact for which Mimi was extremely grateful. It was cooler inside, too, and she gave herself a few minutes on a hastily swept stool in the dusty kitchen to allow her eyes to recover from the brightness. The room was relatively empty, but neat. Copper pans hung on hooks on one wall, and a vase on the windowsill sported several stalks which presumably had once been flowers.

Her phone had bleeped during Palmon’s progression through the gardens, but she’d been hesitant to stop all the while they were out in the open. Now that they had somewhere to rest, she pulled it out to see a message from Mrs Takaishi:

_::That’s very good to hear, Mimi. Where are you now, and how are things progressing? Please keep us updated as much as you can.::_

_::Palmon was able to break down some garden walls, and I’ve found a house which is much safer to take a rest in. I’m going to go in search of some help in a minute though. I can’t see any monsters anywhere, so I don’t think I can get back.::_ After a moment’s thought she added: _::Please tell Mama and Papa I love them very much and I’m quite safe right now.::_

In the wake of the tapping on her phone, the silence became steadily more oppressive. It closed in on her, driving her first into the hallway to peek into the rooms at the front of the house, and then out onto the street. The front door had been left closed, but unlocked. A relief and a mystery all in one.

 _What happened to all the people here?_ she found herself wondering, as she walked out onto the street. _Who used to live here, and where did they go?_

So far she had yet to see any sign of people other than the soldiers who had shot her. And while she was more than happy not to have found any signs of… _bodies_ , or nasty, grisly things like bones, surely groups of armed men wouldn’t still be patrolling without reason? Why were _they_ still here when everyone else had apparently left years and years ago?

She had kept the stick which had broken down the door, and held it in one hand as though it were a sword. It wouldn’t be much help, probably, but Mimi certainly felt a lot stronger carrying it than she had without anything at all. So far there had been no sign of any more monsters—did they only come out at night?—but there was no way she intended to take any more chances until Palmon had recovered a little. If she needed to walk around looking for more of those soldiers, hoping against hope that some of them would show up with enough warning that she could explain, then she might as well have _some_ method of defending herself.

Finally she heard footsteps, and froze. This was it. It had to be them—who else would be wandering around an abandoned city, after all? _Unless it’s Yamato,_ she thought. But if Yamato was free, why hasn’t he spoken to anyone? _Although, what…what if he can’t, just like Hikari couldn’t?_

But that didn’t really make sense either. After all, she hadn’t made it through a night in the city so far. _You don’t even know that it’s the same place, really. It’s just a guess._

It was the worst moment for the doubts to creep back in, of course, a thought which occurred to her moments later when a harsh voice called out for her to drop her weapon immediately.

“What— _oh!_ ” she cried, letting go of the stick. It fell to the ground with a clatter.

“Now raise your hands, _slowly_ , and be warned: if you try any charms or enchantments, we will not hesitate to open fire, understood?”

“Oh, but, I’m not going to do anything like that,” she said, raising her arms despite the pain as she tugged on bandaged wounds. She tried hard to swallow past the knot of fear which rose along with the guns which the soldiers were slowly pointing in her direction. They had emerged from an alleyway she’d hardly even notice while her thoughts were elsewhere. _Stupid_ , she thought. _This place is dangerous and now you’ve put yourself and Palmon in danger!_

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You…you see, I’m a Chosen Child, and I’m also an…an envoy for the Forest City. I’m here with important information from Ithel and the other Elders, so you really do need to take me to visit the…the _Graces_ , I think he said?”

There was a short silence. Well, they hadn’t shot her. That had to be a good thing, didn’t it? She cracked open one eye to see that most of the soldiers were simply staring at her, and cleared her throat, confidence growing.

“It’s something called the time of merging you know, so I really do think it would be a good idea if we could go wherever it is you need to take me so that I can speak to them.”

A woman, who Mimi assumed to be in charge thanks to the rather ornate symbol embroidered onto her shoulder, scowled and shook her head as though to clear her thoughts. “You have been caught trespassing in the city. Why…How can you prove your legitimacy as an envoy? I see no evidence that the Elders sent you.”

Mimi swallowed nervously. “Well, I’m afraid you’ll really just have to take my word for it, but I’m sure that if I can speak to someone we could get this sorted out.”

One of the other soldiers leant in her direction and muttered something. Mimi dearly hoped it was something along the lines of ‘let’s just take her with us anyway because she’s being _very_ good and not running away or saying rude things about all the guns being pointed at her even though she’s a fifteen-year-old _girl_ ’.

And the worst thing; the thing which made her heart _really_ flutter, was the fact that with Palmon tucked into the onbuhimo on her front, she probably wouldn’t be able to defend her partner if anything went wrong. Hands held achingly above her, she sniffed back a tear.

“You know I really do think you’re being very cruel,” she said. “I didn’t _ask_ to be here. I got dragged over from…from _Earth_ —I suppose you _might_ recognise that name, at the very least—and then I was attacked by these horrid monsters and my partner and I were injured, and everyone I’ve seen here has been absolutely horrible to me, and people have been pretty terrible to some of my friends too, but I’ve _still_ got to go and save your whole world you know, and I don’t mind doing it, really, but it would be nice if you didn’t point _guns_ at me while we’re getting all this sorted out, because I really can’t do anything to hurt any of you, even if I wanted to, which I _don’t_.”

The group stared at her, half of them with open mouths. One gun lowered immediately, its owner tilting their head over to the side with an incredulous expression on their face.

The soldier who had muttered before leant over to the leader again. This time there was silence enough that Mimi just caught the words: “…injuries…story checks out so far.”

The leader of the soldiers took a deep breath. “Okay, so this is how it’s going to work. We have standing orders to bring in all trespassers for questioning as it is. Ordinarily you’d be a prisoner, which means the usual hands tied, forced march deal. But _this_ —” she waved in Mimi’s general direction “—this has ‘above my pay grade’ written _all_ over it. You agree to come with us willingly?”

Mimi nodded. “And you’ll take me to see the Graces?”

The woman threw back her head and laughed. “Kid, you’re going straight there, _trust_ me. Okay. Lower your arms. We’ll get you downstairs. Frankly, I think it’s a good opportunity to get myself a _drink_.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wanted to stop in with a couple of notes about this chapter, particularly Takeru's section. Because I mean, do I think that stressing about clothes when you're in the middle of a life-or-death situation is petty? Yes, yes I do. However, do I think it's the sort of reaction someone would actually _have?_ Also yes. 
> 
> The thing is, Takeru is a child (he's actually only...twelve or thirteen so in this, after all - it's set in the first part of the school year in 2004, so he's not even as old as he is in Tri!), and also a human. And human responses to stress and anxiety are a complete cluster at times. And while, I'm not gonna lie, part of me was making a slight nod and poking fun at his fairly arbitrary and at times horrific fashion choices in the Tri movies, the fact is that I have been hospitalised before, and being without your own clothes in that sort of situation (having, say, beeen carted off in an ambulance while wearing pyjamas and slippers) is actually pretty scary. You feel very vulnerable and exposed. And I am no stranger to this, and I can honestly say it's no easier however many times it happens. 
> 
> But there! Enough real-world angst. I made it and managed to update, and everything is looking a little more on the up, no? Please feel free to leave comments and (constructive please!) criticism below, and if you fancy a chat or have questions about the Hope's Fire universe, or any of my other fics, please feel free to give me a shout over on my [tumblr](http://tottwritesfanfic.tumblr.com/)!


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, it's here! It's certainly been a while in the making. Thank you so much to everyone who has patiently (or not-so-patiently) waited for this one. Life has certainly thrown a few curved balls at me over the last few months, but at last I have an update completed!
> 
> I don't want to commit to a regular schedule for future updates just yet (I have a lot of other projects with hard deadlines on them which, sadly, are taking priority at the moment), but I do want to start working on the next chapter soon. As of the 11th _one_ of my deadlines will be up, which will, with any luck, mean that I have more time to write HF. Always assuming that my kids don't take up every waking moment... (Bring on the start of term, lol!)

_Tuesday, 12:38am (12:38pm local time)_  
  
Mimi rather felt that she was justified in being apprehensive about the fact the squad of soldiers led her to another abandoned house which looked more or less exactly the same as every other building in the street.  
  
“We…we’re not going _in_ there, are we?” she said, halting halfway along the path to the door.  
  
The leader of the squad, a woman who had introduced herself as Chausiku, grinned. “So your bravado has its limits, eh, Envoy of the Forest Elders? I find it mighty curious that anyone claiming to be sent by Ithel is wary of going below ground, mind. No one stays topside ‘less they have to, these days.”  
  
Mimi stiffened. “We’re going underground?”  
  
Some of the soldiers exchanged wary glances. Mimi chewed the inside of her lip.  
  
Chausiku regarded her levelly, drumming her dark brown fingers on the barrel of her rifle.  
  
“Spinewolves got you nervous, is it?” she said eventually. “Coz you can rest assured, there’s none of ‘em where we’re going.”  
  
“Spinewolves?” Mimi asked, half-consciously wrapping her arms around Palmon, who lay limp in the onbuhimo still.  
  
“Aye,” said another soldier, who she had guessed to be Chausiku’s second-in-command. “Unholy abominations as managed to take over the Old City back when the problems all started.”  
  
Chausiku cleared her throat. “Envoy as this young lady might yet be, let’s not forget she’s also been apprehended trespassing in the city, shall we? Let’s save the idle chit-chat for when someone a few ranks up has confirmed she’s not a spy, and we’re not likely to be hauled up for consorting with the enemy.” She shook her head, and pointed her rifle at the door. “Inside please, miss. We’ve protocol to get through no matter _who_ you turn out to be.”  
  
There was a no-nonsense look about the woman despite the lack of any animosity in her voice. Judging from the easy way in which she handled the gun, Mimi guessed she’d been a soldier for a long time.  
  
In any event, the house they entered really wasn’t much like any of the others. All the furniture had been removed, and the doors had been boarded up and blocked off permanently. She was led along a hallway to a hatch, and asked to step back as it was thrown open, revealing a metal staircase in good repair. The passage down was lit by some very old-fashioned electric bulbs, fastened to the wall with metal clips and a thick wire which looked as though it had been wrapped in canvas.  
  
Mimi stared at it. “We’re going down there?”  
  
“Yes indeed, Miss _Envoy_ ,” Chausiku said dryly. “Forget to give you directions on your diplomatic mission from the Elders, did they?”  
  
Pursing her lips, Mimi opened her mouth to complain that it was hardly _her_ fault she was stuck there, then closed it again. So far, the soldiers had been far nicer than the ones who had shot at her, and it wasn’t as though she or Palmon would be able to defend themselves very well if they got angry. Was there really any point in risking that by being rude?  
  
She huffed quietly to herself instead, and took a few wary steps down into the cellar. To her surprise, rather than the room she had been expecting she found a corridor, lit along one side by more of the electric bulbs. The walls were solid earth, braced by wooden beams, but the floor underfoot was poured concrete. It reminded her of an old film which she’d watched with her parents while she’d been in America, something about one of the world wars and all filmed in black and white.  
  
…It hadn’t been a very _nice_ film, actually, she realised when she thought about it a little more. Her mother had switched the channel to something else halfway through. _Oh dear._  
  
The last soldier down—the second-in-command who hadn’t bothered to introduce himself—closed the hatch and drew several bars over it. Mimi tried to hide her anxiety at being locked into the tunnel with a group of soldiers, far away from the open air.  
  
“H-how far is it?” Mimi asked, wincing at the uncertainty in her voice. She _was_ an Envoy, wasn’t she? And was definitely a Chosen Child, and that meant she had to hold it together. People were relying on them—a _lot_ of people.  
  
Palmon stirred in the onbuhimo and Mimi tensed. So far, none of the soldiers had said anything about her partner, and she wasn’t sure what they would make of her if she started talking. _Last time, someone shot her_ , she thought uneasily. She couldn’t risk that happening again, even if her current escort had their rifles lowered to the ground, and walked along with easy, relaxed expressions. Palmon had protected her on so many occasions in the past. Now it was time she did the same for her partner in return.  
  
“Depends,” Chausiku said bluntly. “Technically, the City proper starts just a few floors down, so we’ll be at the nearest guard post in ten minutes or so. Not sure how long they’ll keep us. Most likely someone will check you over. Just to make sure you’re being honest. Assuming you are who you say you are…well. It’s a fair walk to their Graces’ quarters from here, but who knows? Maybe you’ll get the special treatment.”  
  
“Special treatment?” Mimi asked, not sure she liked the sound of that.  
  
But rather than answer, Chausiku simply shook her head.  
  
After they had walked a few more paces in silence, the woman sighed, and turned around to face Mimi. She stared at her levelly with dark brown eyes that looked almost black in the poorly-lit corridor.  
  
“Look, your story’s good enough that I’m being chattier than I ever would with a normal trespasser, but if you think I’m giving you any _real_ information about the City you must be of the opinion I’m stupid or something. I’m not gonna lie, Envoy. Nothing I’ve told you is secret. Nothing’s gonna give you any kind of advantage if you turn out to be pulling something. Because much as I’d like to think you really _are_ a poor, defenceless little girl who somehow got dropped into a warzone with nothing but a large stick and a highly important message—from our distant neighbours that no one’s heard a peep out of in over a year, no less—shockingly enough, it’s a pretty hard tale to swallow. Sorry kid. I want to like you for your pluck, but that’s gonna have to wait until I get some official confirmation that’s what it actually is.”  
  
Mimi blinked. “But…who else would I be?”  
  
Chausiku raised an eyebrow, even as several of her soldiers stifled laughter.  
  
“Kid, you could be _anything_. Rogue Fae, illusion, shapeshifter…hell, even the fact it’s only just past high noon out there wouldn’t technically prevent you from being undead of some kind. After all, it’s not like you were able to put up much of a fight while we were outside. But if you’re Fae then the iron gate’ll let us know; if you’re an illusion then we’ll get too deep for your conjurer to maintain. Shapeshifters or undead we can sniff out too.”  
  
“And if you’re just plain _lying_ then you picked the wrong squad to mess with for sure,” another of the soldiers piped up.  
  
He was silenced by the second-in-command, but Mimi couldn’t help noticing that Chausiku had smiled thinly at his words. Somehow it wasn’t a reassuring smile at all.  
  
_I really hope I haven’t made a mistake,_ she thought.

 

* * *

 

 

 _Tuesday, 1:34am (1:34pm local time)_  
  
Takeru looked down at himself and grimaced.  
  
“I guess it could probably be worse,” he said after a moment, sighing.  
  
Patamon watched from his perch on the bed, and looked between him and the healer who had assisted him with the fastenings. He’d given it a valiant attempt, but his fingers were still too stiff and sore to manage.  
  
But you just look like everyone else who lives here now, Takeru,” Patamon said. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Takeru glanced at the healer, who watched him impassively. He hadn’t managed to offend them, had he?  
  
“It’s just too different,” he said quickly. “I’m not used to really baggy shirts like this, or to…are they even trousers?”  
  
“Breeches,” the healer said helpfully. “These are clothes of the sort we keep ready against emergencies. They are made in standard sizes, rather than being tailored to fit, and the porters had to estimate which to bring. Now that you are awake it will be possible to arrange fittings.”  
  
Takeru stared blankly at him. “Fittings?”  
  
“Well, naturally, Chosen. I cannot believe the Elders would allow you to remain without suitable attire. If you truly mean to leave the Forest City and battle the corruption, you would need armour and weapons much as the Scouts possess.”  
  
Takeru clamped his mouth shut rather than squawk something undignified like: “Wait _what?_ ” The last he’d heard they were being sent off to find some _council_ , not preparing to join an army. He needed to find the others.  
  
“So…am I allowed to leave now?” he managed at last. “The hospital, I mean. You’ve been really helpful, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done, but…I’d also like to see my friends.” _And find out what’s going on,_ he added silently.  
  
“Of course! I’ll go fetch a porter to escort you down.”  
  
Takeru watched warily as the healer left the ward, and sat down on the bed. He didn’t want to admit just how tiring it was to stand, or how much his feet ached when he did so. Patamon clambered onto his lap.  
  
“It’s okay, Takeru,” he said, looking up at him. “Everyone’s being really nice now they know who we are.”  
  
“It’s not really _that_ ,” Takeru replied, hugging his partner as tightly as he dared. Fear still coiled in his gut; a tight, unpleasant knot. Every time he closed his eyes he saw stars tumbling over themselves. _I’m underground_ , he told himself firmly. _Underground and there’s nowhere to fall._  
  
The weight of Patamon in his lap was reassuring. So, oddly enough, was the slightly rough material of the shirt he had been given. He couldn’t be falling through the air if he was sat on a hospital bed in strange clothes. And he was safe with Patamon, so there was nothing to be scared of. Nothing to close off his senses.  
  
Three or four deep breaths later he heard footsteps, and opened his eyes. A fairy walked in, pushing a wheelchair which looked like some sort of elaborate film prop.  
  
“The doctors wanted you to rest,” he said, apparently noticing the expression on Takeru’s face. “Apparently you had a run in with a goblin? Better not to push it, I say.”  
  
Being wheeled around rather than being allowed to walk wasn’t quite how Takeru had hoped he would make his exit from the hospital wing, but after several minutes’ worth of corridors, and a wide, spiralling ramp which took him down a number of floors, he had to admit that it was probably for the best. Despite the long sleep, weariness tugged at his bones, and he found himself yawning, even despite the interesting views.  
  
There were people everywhere, all of different shapes and (in some cases) sizes, all bustling around and hardly sparing him a second glance. He clung to Patamon and watched them between yawns, noting that at least the healer hadn’t been exaggerating about his clothes. Most of the crowds _did_ seem to be wearing things which weren’t really all that dissimilar to his own things.  
  
The floor with the hospital wing was the busiest, but after the ramp they emerged onto a smaller, more ornate hallway which reminded him of a hotel. There were markings on most of the doors, and a thick carpet underfoot. Partway along he heard familiar voices.  
  
“Can I walk from here?” he asked the porter, looking round. “I…I’d kinda prefer it to being _pushed_ in.”  
  
The porter smiled. “Of course, Chosen. But I shall leave the convalescing chair in your chambers, lest you require it for your next meeting with the Elders.”  
  
Takeru tried not to groan as he hauled himself out of the chair. Wasn’t that something old people did? He sounded like his _grandmother_ , not a normal teenager. Patamon fluttered around him, orbiting his head excitedly. He hadn’t gone more than a few steps down the hallway when Tentomon’s head poked out of the doorway.  
  
“Takeru!” he cried, hurrying out into the corridor. “It’s good to see you again. I was most concerned when I heard about what has been happening to you and Koushiro, so—”  
  
“Tentomon!” came Koushiro’s voice. He sounded tired. “Let him come in and sit down.”  
  
Moments later Taichi appeared at the doorway. “Hey, glad to see you upright,” he said. “Come on, we’re all gathering in Koushiro’s room for now while Hikari has a nap. Unless you need to lie down as well?”  
  
Takeru shook his head, and winced. Urgh, that hurt. “I think I’ve been lying down for way too long already,” he said.  
  
Taichi nodded. “I can understand that. It looks like it helped, at least.”  
  
Takeru followed him into the room, eyes widening as he took it all in. Koushiro was seated at an ornate desk piled high with old books. More of them lay stacked in a few piles beside it, and Tentomon and Agumon were perched on the edge of a large four-poster bed which stood against the far wall. The general effect was that of a Western fairy tale made real.  
  
“Pretty nuts, right?” Taichi said, grinning. “At least it beats camping out every night like we had to last time.”  
  
He steered Takeru over to a sofa and gestured for him to sit. Koushiro had already returned to pouring over the open book on the desk, jotting down notes.  
  
“How are you feeling?” Taichi asked, expression turning more serious. “You’ve had a rough couple of days.”  
  
“I’m fine,” Takeru said. Patamon settled onto the cushion beside him, nudging against his leg. He sighed. “I mean, I ache, and walking hurts, but it’s not that bad, really. Especially considering how I _should_ be feeling. But that’s… Taichi, what’s going on? The healer said something about ‘battling corruption’, and I have no idea what that means.”  
  
Taichi sighed. “None of us are really sure at the moment,” he said, rubbing the side of his head with one hand. The other held his digivice. “But Ithel…you know he wanted us to go see this Council, right? Well, apparently it’s not gonna be a walk in the park. Turns out, they’ve sent people to them before. Messengers asking for help, because apparently the Council are…I guess they’re this world’s Four Holy Beasts. From what we can tell, anyway. The trouble is…none of them came back. They don’t even know if they made it _there_. Probably they didn’t.”  
  
Takeru closed his eyes and hung his head. “So we’re marching off into almost certain doom again,” he said.  
  
It was strange, really, how calm he felt. Part of him almost wished he _were_ scared, but all he really felt was exhausted. After all, how many times could a person be thrown into mortal peril before that background pressure started to feel like normality? When he looked up, Taichi’s face told exactly the same story.  
  
“It shouldn’t be as bad as all that,” Taichi said. “We’ve got a real advantage the Scouts—the people they’ve been sending—don’t have. There will be more of us, for one. Enough to put up a fight, while not being so many that we make ourselves a target. And we’ve got our partners, and if things get _really_ bad, we know there’s a strong chance we’ll just get thrown back to Earth for a bit. And we’ve had news from Jou and Ken, too. They’re safe in another underground city somewhere in the mountains, and the people in charge there are going to put together some sort of armed guard to escort them here. With six of us travelling together, our partners should be able to fend off any trouble, just the same as they always could in the digital world.”  
  
Takeru swallowed. He took a breath, but before he could speak, Taichi shook his head.  
  
“We haven’t heard from Yamato or Sora yet,” he said. “Mimi…” He frowned. “Mimi’s ended up back in a place which _sounds_ a bit like the city he was in, but we can’t be sure of anything more than that just yet. We’re not giving up—we’re _going_ to find them—but I can’t make promises when. At worst, though…we’ve got to go north to get to this Council. That means going past that city marked on the map we found at the station. If Mimi doesn’t find them then frankly, this whole prophecy thing can wait. We’ll take a detour and look for them ourselves.”  
  
The expression on Taichi’s face hadn’t lost any of its seriousness or solemnity, but despite his aches and pains, Takeru felt lighter than he had since he’d found out about his brother’s disappearance. Taichi had been telling him in a roundabout way not to get his hopes up. He _knew_ that. But who would he be if he didn’t do just that?

 

* * *

 

 

 _Tuesday, 2:00am (2:00pm local time)_  
  
By the time they reached the second checkpoint, Mimi’s legs ached with each and every step. How much further could this city _be?_ It was as though they had been walking forever. The weight of Palmon dragged at her front, and the straps had rubbed her back until it burned. Both her arms and her whole cheek felt hot and tight around the scratches there. She’d raised her hand to her face once as they walked, and felt the warmth even without touching the skin.  
  
_Mrs Yagami cleaned them all up_ , she thought, pressing her lips together. _It’s fine._  
  
The gateway they passed through to reach the guards was a strange affair, constructed entirely of stone and wood with strips of a silvery metal inlaid into it. She frowned at it as they walked underneath.  
  
“Why wood?” she asked “Wouldn’t steel be stronger, if you wanted to keep things out?”  
  
The second-in-command snorted, but it was Chausiku who answered. She’d gotten considerably friendlier since the guards at the first checkpoint had proven that Mimi was human, and that she was telling the truth about her identity.  
  
“Kid, steel’s iron, and you don’t get that anywhere Fae are passing through. Besides, anyone who overpowers the guards back there ain’t gonna be stopped by a bit of steel, no matter how thick it is. That up there—”she pointed to the metal embedded in the wooden portions of the door—“is pure silver. Best thing for enchanting, and you’re not gonna get werefolk passing under it, just for an added bonus.”  
  
Mimi swallowed uncomfortably. “Oh.”  
  
The guards at the checkpoint were friendlier by _far_ than the first set she had spoken to. They seemed to know Chausiku and her squad quite well, chatting about people and places Mimi knew nothing about. She kept her head down, hoping that someone would let her rest for a bit before they made her walk any further. Despite trying to rest throughout the day in the Yagami’s apartment, her body was firmly reminding her that it was the middle of the night, and she was bone-weary.  
  
“Envoy?” came a voice. She looked up to see a short, slender man with translucent wings holding out his arm. “Envoy, we had word sent of your arrival, and injured state. We don’t keep much by at the checkpoints, but we have a restorative which you may drink to tide you over. I’ve also been instructed to inform you that a chamber has been made ready, with attendants who will help you prepare for your audience with Their Graces. It has been scheduled for four bells of the afternoon.”  
  
“They’re speaking with her _today?_ ” Chausiku asked. She looked down at her wrist. “In… _two hours?_ "  
  
“It’s unexpected, most certainly,” the man replied. His wings shimmered as he moved, catching light from the bulbs illuminating the corridor. “But that’s the order.” He turned to Mimi, who belatedly realised she was staring at him and bowed a proper greeting. What if he was offended! It wasn’t even as though he was the first fairy she had seen. Although she had to admit, Alwyn’s wings had been a lot more fuzzy-looking, and a lot less intimidating as a result.  
  
_It’s like the difference between Lilymon and Stingmon,_ she thought. _Oh. Oh I hope Jou and Ken are okay._  
  
“Envoy, if you will step this way, we have the restorative and a private chair waiting for you. On behalf of Their Graces I would like to extend my welcome to the City, and our apologies for the unfortunate nature of your initial reception.”  
  
“I…thank you,” Mimi said, bowing again. She looked over at Chausiku, who was watching her with a slightly bemused expression. “Thank you for bringing me down here safely, too. I…I suppose I might not see you again, so, um…I hope you all stay safe, and I promise I’ll do my very best to help save your world.”  
  
Chausiku smiled crookedly. “It’s not for us to determine how the future will play out,” she said, drumming the barrel of her gun with her fingers. “That’s up to the Fates. Or for them to _tell_ at least, according to the old stories. If you were brought here by them somehow for that, then we just have to trust that they knew what they were doing. It’s already laid out, for better or worse. Now we just get to live it and find out whether we’ve been smiled on. Still. I’ve a hunch I’ll be seeing you again.”  
  
The fairy cleared his throat. “Wise words, but if you will excuse me, Captain, time is in short supply. Envoy, please follow me.”  
  
She followed the fairy who led Mimi into a small room, and rested a hand on her shoulder as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a glass bottle full of a dark red liquid.  
  
“A word, Envoy,” she said quietly, pulling her back towards the door a little.  
  
Mimi stared at her. “What?”  
  
Chausiku looked over her shoulder at the fairy, and narrowed her eyes. “He won’t say it, being one of the Folk himself, but as one human to another: take care with Their Graces. I don’t know what kind of world Earth is these days, but it’s clear you’re not familiar with the rules. Don’t lie. Don’t offer them a trade. Don’t eat anything they give you. And…try not to look them in the eye, if you can help it. Understood? You—” she cleared her throat, and raised her voice. “You were good company this last few hours, Envoy. I wish you well on your quest.”  
  
Mimi turned around to see the fairy had approached, holding out what looked a lot like a silver eggcup. As she took it, Chausiku gently clapped her shoulder again.  
  
“I must return to my patrol. I hope you find what you seek,” she added, bowing as she left the room.  
  
Mimi waved her off and leant forward to stare at the tiny cup she was being offered. “What _is_ that?” she asked.  
  
“A restorative as promised, Envoy,” the fairy said. He cleared his throat. “I will warn you that the taste is quite strong. It’s better to drink it in one.”  
  
Mimi nodded. _Well here goes nothing,_ she thought. _It’s not like I can really say no politely._  
  
Despite her best efforts she couldn’t help coughing and spluttering, almost choking as it went down. She shuddered as she handed the cup back to the fairy, whose expression had brightened to a barely contained smile.  
  
“Oh, that was _horrible_ ,” Mimi said, shaking her head. She blinked. “But I do feel better, so I suppose it was probably worth it.”  
  
He nodded. “This way please. Their Graces do not like to be kept waiting, and we must find you more suitable attire for your audience.”  
  
Mimi looked down at herself. She didn’t think she looked _that_ bad in her school uniform, although it was definitely a little dusty in places. Still, if this fairy seemed to think she needed to dress differently, she probably ought to listen. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t had to change the way she dressed because of cultural rules before.  
  
Despite the extra energy she’d gained from whatever it was she’d drunk, Mimi was definitely glad to see a chair waiting for her after she was led down several flights of stairs.  
  
“Why are we so far underground?” she asked, rubbing her aching calves as she settled into what looked a lot like a very ornate rickshaw, except instead of a person pulling it there was a strange creature made of what looked like stone.  
  
The fairy from the checkpoint made no move to join her despite the fact it clearly seated two people. He stared, raising his eyebrows and then shaking his head.  
  
“Envoy, it is unsafe to dwell on the surface due to the spreading corruption, and the constant assault from those it has warped. No one wishes to be too close. The upper levels of the city are more dangerous than those further down. More at risk from assault. The world is turned over from what it was in centuries past. There are many beneath the surface who have never ventured up to see the sky, or fly unfettered by ceilings and tunnels.”  
  
Mimi swallowed. Never seeing the sky? She couldn’t imagine it.  
  
“Well, I guess that’s just what we’re all here to change then,” she said, nodding firmly.  
  
For the first time since she had arrived at the checkpoint, the smile on the fairy’s face seemed genuine, if wistful.  
  
“You say it as though it’s a certainty,” he said, tapping the harness at the front of the rickshaw. “I only wish it were that simple.”  
  
The odd stone creature shook itself off and began to move off at walking pace. Mimi twisted awkwardly in her seat to call back at him:  
  
“We’ll do it you know! You’ll see!”  
  
For an answer he simply waved until she reached a turn in the corridor and pulled out of sight.

 

* * *

 

 

Palmon didn’t stir in the onbuhimo until she tried to take it off. The attendant who had greeted her when the rickshaw stopped had gone to fetch the tailors, inviting Mimi to wait in her ‘chamber’. The room looked like something from a five-star hotel, all marble floors and thick pile rugs. He hadn’t spoken to her much other than, in not particularly subtle words, to hint that she ought to bathe before the fittings started.  
  
“…Mimi?” came a tired voice as she laid the onbuhimo down on the bed.  
  
“It’s okay Palmon,” Mimi said, hugging herself rather than risk crushing Palmon to death in her relief. “We’re safe in the City somehow, and they’re letting me speak to those Grace people soon. How are you feeling?”  
  
Palmon sat up, looking around the room. “I’ll be just fine, Mimi,” she said. “You’re taking me with you though, right?”  
  
“Of _course!_ ” Mimi exclaimed. “Gennai said you’d be better off _with_ me, so I’m not going to let them split us up. I don’t care what kind of nonsense they think about digimon here. They’ll just have to get used to the way we do things. We _are_ here to save the world, after all.”  
  
She was relieved to find a shower in the bathroom as well as a bath and thick, soft towels. Hot water sounded perfect after everything she’d been through. Still, washing with the wounds on her back wasn’t going to be an easy process.  
  
“I’ll just have to keep my back and arms as dry as I can,” she said. “Maybe I can wash my hair over the bath.”  
  
Palmon helped in the end, holding the shower head so that Mimi could rinse the dust and dirt from her hair, and scrub the uninjured half of her face. She was forced to leave the bandages on her arms, and the dressings across her back, but reasoned that _surely_ no one could object there. The main issue had been the scratch on her cheek, which even clean water with no soap at all had aggravated. When she looked in a standing mirror in the bathroom, she realised that the entire side of her face had started to look a little puffier than it ought. The scratch was angry and red.  
  
_There’s nothing I can do about that now,_ she told herself, putting on the dressing gown which had been laid over the top of hte pile of towels.  
  
Two women were waiting for her when she returned to the main part of the room, both of whom stared at her in dismay.  
  
“What’s wrong?” she asked them.  
  
“That wound looks angry and sore,” the woman on the left said. As far as Mimi could tell she was human, with streaks of grey running through her brown hair. “Please, sit. I must take a look and ensure it’s clean.”  
  
“Oh it’s fine, really,” Mimi said. “Mrs Yagami made sure to clean everything and put anti-bacterial ointment on all the scratches. I really mustn’t be late for this meeting. It’s so important!”  
  
“What manner of creature was it, which gave you these wounds,” the woman went on, as though Mimi hadn’t spoken at all. She raised her hand so that it was a few centimetres from Mimi’s back. “I can feel the heat coming off them even from here. Spinewolves?”  
  
Mimi blinked. “Those horrible things with the giant spikes on their backs?” she said. “How did you know?”  
  
The woman _tsk_ ed, and looked over her shoulder at her companion. “Go fetch Althea. We’re going to need a _real_ healer if she’s going before Their Graces. Can’t send her in this state.”  
  
“Of course,” the other woman said, dipping a curtsy. She scurried out of the room.  
  
“Envoy, the wounds inflicted by those spinewolves are akin to those of the bargheist. They swiftly turn foul unless the poison is flushed out. I don’t know what these ‘antibiotics’ things you speak of are, but unless they’re able to counteract the poison within your wounds there will be no recovery. Spinewolves are a corrupted race, far removed from what they once were, and that corruption will spread within you, making these wounds fester unless they are treated. How many are there?”  
  
Mimi swallowed heavily, feeling her legs shake beneath her. She sat down heavily on the bed.  
  
“All…all up my arms and over my back,” she said. “They...they attacked my partner. I had to protect her!”  
  
Palmon stared up at her. “Mimi…”  
  
“Well, we’ve no time to waste,” the woman said. “We’ve only another bell before Their Graces will be ready for you, and we’ve to treat these wounds and get you dressed before then. It’s as well you’re not too big. Less sewing to fuss over on the adjustments.”  
  
She whipped out a tape measure and quickly took a few basic measurements, nodding to herself as she jotted them down. Once done, she tore off the top page.  
  
“Wait there please, Envoy,” she said. “I won’t be a moment. It’ll be a plain gown, on this notice, but it will do. Unless you’d rather the trousers?”  
  
Mimi shook her head. “I could wear my uniform…”  
  
She trailed off as the woman left the room, muttering something under her breath. It was unsettling to be left almost alone in a strange, unfamiliar city, but before she had a chance to collect her thoughts the second woman was back, bringing with her a man who was dressed in an identical uniform to the soldiers she had met on the surface.  
  
“Greetings,” he said, bowing. “My name is Shichiro. I was asked to attend to your wounds as Althea is with a patient at present, and I happened to be off-duty. Do you have an objection? I know there are some who would prefer their healer to be female.”  
  
“What do you need to do?” Mimi asked.  
  
He nodded. “Lay healing requires no physical contact, so there’s nothing for you to fear. I will call the toxins from your body, into…I was told there were bandages covering most of your wounds? The dressings will need to be changed after, and the wounds cleaned afresh, but with luck it will only take the one healing.”  
  
“You should let him, Mimi,” Palmon said. “Didn’t you get a message from Taichi and the others saying he’d had a healer look at him too? And that woman made it sound like those wolf-creatures are worse than what attacked Taichi.”  
  
Mimi nodded, and looked up to see that Shichiro was staring at Palmon. “What is it?” she snapped. “Don’t you dare be rude to her. I’ve heard all about what some of you think of digimon in this world, and you’re wrong about them. They’re not all mindless monsters you know. Palmon is my partner and she’s here to help, just the same as I am.”  
  
“I… _she_ is a digimon too?” he said, eyes wide. “I had thought they were all towering monsters who attacked without reason or pause. Perhaps I wasn’t overtired and imagining things after all. Tell me, please, what manner of other forms might digimon take? Are they all plant-creatures such as your partner? Or could a digimon also be a creature who…who wears a fur coat and has a single horn on its forehead?”  
  
Mimi’s chest had locked up. For a few seconds she was too stunned even to notice the residual ache from the scratches on her back. He…had he…  
  
“You met Gabumon?” she asked. “You met _Yamato?_ She leapt to her feet, clutching Palmon to stop her from being flung to the floor.  
  
“Gabumon…yes! Yes that was what he called the creature. He spoke the truth?”  
  
“Oh! Oh! You _did_ meet Yamato!” Mimi shrieked. She let go of Patamon, who leapt to the floor as she raised her hands, fists clenched with excitement. “Is he here? What happened to him? Was it his phone running out of battery like Hikari’s D-Teminal? Oh no _wonder_ Their Graces want to talk to me. We’ve all been really worried about him you know. I’m so glad he’s safe! Please, do tell me where he is!”  
  
The expression on Shichiro’s face brought her up sharply. It was somewhere between that of a student who had just learnt that they had failed to study for an imminent test, and a rabbit caught in the headlines of an oncoming car.  
  
“He…he’s your friend,” he said woodenly, exhaling heavily when Mimi nodded. “He is Chosen? Oh, by the Fates, this is a mess. We apprehended him for trespassing some two or three days ago now, and delivered him to the City dungeons. I’ve heard no word of any prisoners being released from there since.”  
  
The words took a few moments to sink in.  
  
“You…you took him _where?_ " Mimi said, voice shaking with rage. She ignored a gentle rap on the door. “He’s in the _dungeons?_ ”  
  
The door opened to reveal the first woman, who carried a plain dress over one arm, with a pair of what looked like slippers held in her hand.  
  
“It’s as plain as I feared Envoy, but on this short notice it will more than suff…ice..” She trailed off, frowning. “What in all manner of heavens is going on here?”  
  
“We have a change of plans,” Mimi snapped, glaring at Shichiro. “I’m going to see those Graces _now_.”  
  
  



End file.
